Hell and High Water
by Dr. Austin A. Winchester
Summary: Life isn't always sunshine and roses and sometimes the person we love the most cuts us the deepest. Austin and Ally's relationship crumbles while they are on separate tours. Yet both are determined to make their marriage work. Will everything work out in the end, or will it be the end of Austin and Ally forever?
1. Divorce?

**Disclaimer: **I found out last night that I finally bought the rights to Austin and Ally from Disney Channel….Then I woke up this morning and it was all dream.

_May 23__rd__, 2020_

_**Dynamic Duo Getting Divorced?**_

_The Dynamic Duo, commonly known as Austin and Ally, have not made any official statements about whether they are getting a divorce or not. However, insiders say that the Moons have been unhappy in their marriage for quite some time now. When asked about their dwindling marriage, Ally Moon replied with, "I still love Austin. We are timeless. I just feel that our marriage has been placed in the backseat, rather than our careers and for that, we're suffering." What Ally said tends to happen a lot to celebrities and non-celebrities alike. People become married to their careers, instead of to their spouses. _

_Austin Moon however, had a completely different statement than his wife. He said, "Yeah, our marriage sucks. But, we're Austin and Ally. What could possibly happen?" Well, now we know who the optimist in this relationship is. _

_Sources reveal that Austin has coming home late and spending less and less time with his wife. When asked if Austin Moon had a mistress, the insider revealed, "He could. Austin could have a mistress." As you can see, the rumor was not confirmed or destroyed. If Austin was having an affair, it would certainly explain why he was coming home late at night or not at all._

_Ally was completely adamant that Austin is not having an affair. _

_Cheetah Beat reporters not convinced, wanted more information. So, they sat down separately with Austin and Ally to find out more information. Both were asked, "You have been married six years now. Why haven't you talked about having children?"_

"_Actually, we've been married for almost seven years now. Our anniversary is in a few months," Ally replied, making sure our reporters had the correct information. "We married young, right out of high school. While we felt we were ready to get married, we knew we weren't ready to have kids so we decided to wait. With our careers where they are, I'm not sure if we're ready yet." So there you have it, Ally Moon doesn't want children. _

_Again Austin's story didn't match up to that of his wife's._

_When asked if Austin could possibly be having an affair because she won't bear his children, Ally grabbed the tape recorder and threw it at the wall before walking out in the middle of the interview. Talk about a diva in the making. _

_So while the couple has not made an official statement about whether they are getting a divorce, their marriage is indeed crumbling. An insider has also stated that Austin Moon leaves for his European tour shortly before Ally Moon embarks out on her own tour. With thousands of miles of ocean between them, their marriage will be put to the ultimate test. _

That article was crap! They were making her sound like a baby hating monster! Ripping the article from the magazine made her feel better. However, she was still frustrated. She was still angry. Never wanting to see those inferior words again, Ally Moon crumpled the article into a teeny ball. With anger driving her actions, the crumpled ball of paper flew across the living room. It hit the opposite wall once with a tap, sounding like a basketball hitting the backboard, before falling forgotten to the carpet. Tipping her head back to rest against the top of the overly plush sofa, Ally groaned.

The problem wasn't that the article was crap.

The problem was that the article wasn't completely crap.

There was a lot of truth in the _Cheetah Beat _article. They were heading out on two separate tours soon. She would be touring around the continental U.S. while Austin would be touring Europe for the first time. Ally wasn't surprised if his next album coming out would result in a world tour, taking him away from her for a lot longer than just three months. They were having problems in their marriage, but that didn't mean they wanted a divorce.

There was also a lot of crap in the _Cheetah Beat _article too. She was not a diva. If anyone was a diva, it would be Trish. She did want to have children. With their booming careers and fame, she wanted to be sure their relationship was stable before they added kids to the mix. After all, it wouldn't be fair for those children to have two famous parents who were divorced and never had any time for them. Finally, the article made her sound like a middle-aged, insecure housewife who kept saying that her husband wasn't cheating because she didn't want to face the fact that her husband was indeed cheating on her for a woman half her age. Instead, she kept saying Austin wasn't having an affair, because the stupid, story hungry reporters couldn't get the truth through their thick skulls. Apparently, they still hadn't.

How did she know that Austin Moon was not a womanizing cheat? He was way too genuine to cheat. Having known him since they were fifteen, Ally knew the rock star inside and out. Besides, Austin was a terrible liar. Just like his parents had found out every time he had snuck out of his room as a teenager, Ally knew every time he attempted to lie. He would scoff and his voice tended to get a little higher before he then admitted the truth.

"_Do you still have feelings for me?"_

"_Pfft! No…Yes."_

Ally smiled at the memory. Austin had a written a song about her, but was too afraid to actually admit he still had feelings for her, especially since they decided to just be friends. By the way he tried to deny it, Ally knew he still liked her before he had said yes.

She was pulled out of her reverie by the chirping of her phone. Stretching her hand out, Ally blindly grabbed it from the end table. Trish's smiling face flashed on the screen incenting Ally to accept the call. She placed the phone to her ear.

"Hi Trish."

"Guess who made the cover of _Cheetah Beat_?"

"I know," Ally sighed into the mouthpiece. "I saw it."

"How can you not be happy about it? You and Austin made the cover! Right now you guys are the most talked about celebrity couple! Even Bradgelina isn't talked about as much as you are!"

Ally sighed again. "I've had a long day, Trish and Austin's not home, okay? I doubt he's seen the article yet and I don't want to talk about it. Goodnight. I will talk to you later." Before Trish could say anything else, Ally quickly hung up.

Of course Austin wasn't home yet. He'd been invited to Jimmy Starr's party. Dez went with him. Austin had begged her to go with him, but she had had a late meeting with Ronny Ramone, the head of the record label she was signed to. But, these late nights were common and so Ally was used to them.

Glancing at the time, she sighed, dropping the phone back onto the end table. As if she was compelled to or something, Ally grabbed the phone again, checking it for any messages. Of course there weren't any sweet texts or voice mails from Austin. He hadn't left any for quite some time now. Dropping the phone once again, Ally stood up to make her way upstairs to get ready for bed.

Even though Austin wasn't home, Ally, tired from the day's events, crawled under the covers, facing Austin's empty side of the bed. Wanting to feel him near, she clutched his pillow like a teddy bear before drifting off to dream land.

She wasn't sure how many minutes or how many hours passed since she drifted off to sleep. When she felt the mattress shift and a strong arm wrap around her waist, pulling her close, Ally couldn't help but smile.


	2. Somebody's in the Doghouse

The morning sun streamed in through the curtains, causing the young woman to moan in response. Unable to get back to sleep with the bright sunlight filling the room, she reached for the other side of the bed, feeling for her husband. The bed was empty. Rolling out of bed, Ally slipped her feet into her warm, fuzzy slippers before making her way downstairs. Austin was nowhere in sight. Sighing, she stepped into the kitchen. Breakfast wasn't waiting for her and neither was Austin. Instead, there was a note left on the counter. Picking it up, she quickly scanned her eyes over it.

_Ally,_

_Having practice with my band. Probably be gone most of the day. Can you go to the store? We're out of pancake mix so I had to eat the rest of your Raisin Bran for breakfast. By the way, how can you eat that stuff? It's nasty. By the way, Jimmy thinks it would be good if I had a new song so I can give my fans a hint of my next album. So can you write me a song? Jimmy wants to see it sometime tomorrow. Thanks. Love ya._

_-Austin_

Angry, she dropped the note back onto the counter. Seriously, that's how he decided to tell her that he needed a new song? She had other things to do than to write him another song and to run to the store for pancake mix just so he would be happy. He could learn to eat something besides pancakes for a change. Change would be good for him. She had to practice as well. He wasn't the only one going out on tour.

Sighing, hoping to release the tension she felt, Ally tied her long chestnut hair into a ponytail before grabbing the telephone off the hook. It didn't take her long to dial Austin's cell phone number from memory. Soon, she had the phone pressed to her ear, drumming out a rhythm on the counter with her fingers as she waited for Austin to pick up.

**xXx**

Feeling his phone vibrating in his pocket, Austin motioned for his band to stop in the middle of the chorus. Reaching into his pocket, Austin pulled it out to see Ally's smiling face smiling back at him. Accepting the call, he placed the phone to his ear.

"Hey Baby," he grinned into the phone, ignoring the snickers and jokes his band shot his way as he talked to Ally. Walking away from the others, Austin leaned against the wall. "Get my note?" He heard Ally sigh into the mouthpiece, but he couldn't tell if she was upset or not.

"Yeah," he heard her say. "I got it."

"Great," he said, grinning into the phone. His grin faltered as he continued. "Listen sorry, I was going to tell you I had practice with my band today, but you were already in bed by the time I got home and I didn't want to disturb you. You're not mad, are you?"

"I'm fine."

Austin didn't like her tone. It sounded like she was mad at him, but like she didn't want him to know she was mad at him. Although weary that she was angry with him, Austin decided to ask about the song anyways.

"About a new song," he said slowly, hoping a volcano wouldn't erupt on the other end of the line.

"Austin!" she screeched into the phone. Yup, he should have known he would regret asking. He sighed, listening to her continue to chew him out. He knew she was going on tour soon too and that she had her own rehearsals. Yes, he knew she only had a day to write a song. They've pulled all-nighters plenty of times to write songs before. So, what was the big deal now?

Interrupting her rant, he asked, "What do you mean you can't write me a song? You're my songwriter!"

"We're still partners, Austin, and if you aren't going to help me write your songs, then I quit."

Austin brows scrunched together in confusion. Quit? How can she quit? They're married. She can't quit being his songwriter after ten years, can she? He snorted before voicing his concerns. "We're married. You can't just quit."

The line was silent for a few moments and Austin feared that she may have hung up, not wanting to argue anymore. Finally, a deep sigh sounded in his ear, followed by: "Just watch me." Nothing but silence followed.

Taking his phone away from his ear, Austin glanced at the screen. She had hung up. Letting his phone slip into his hoodie's pocket, Austin hid his face in his hands. Sighing, exasperatedly, he grabbed his hair and pulled. He needed to come up with a solution so he could fix this. As a teenager fighting with his parents, he never wanted to apologize or fix anything. Now, as a married man, he wanted to fix everything. He just couldn't stand having Ally upset with him.

The band was still snickering.

"Looks like somebody's in the doghouse!" the bass player commented.

"Shut up," Austin mumbled before sliding onto the floor.

**xXx**

After taking a few deep breaths to calm down, Ally grabbed the jar of pickles from the refrigerator before wandering downstairs to their furnished basement/practice room. Sliding into one of the chairs, she sighed. She had to fix this. While Austin was getting better at writing his feelings down on paper, he still needed help forming an actual song. That loveable rock star would always need her songs and she knew it. Crunching on a pickle, Ally smiled as she closed her eyes, trying to let notes, melody, and words come to her. Austin would have a new song to show to Jimmy tomorrow. If he didn't like it, then it was his loss. He should have been home to help her write the damn song.

Ally wasn't sure how long she had been sitting there like that, munching on pickles. Glancing at the wall clock, Ally found her strength to sit up and face the day. With the now empty jar of pickles, Ally made her way back upstairs. Dumping the empty jar in the kitchen sink, Ally rushed up the stairs to the master bed and bath. She made sure to scrub her hands to get the pickle stench off of her fingers before grabbing her safety goggles to brush her teeth.

Grabbing her songbook from its current hiding place, Ally got to work putting the song to paper.

**xXx**

Only a few hours had passed since his argument with Ally, and Austin found himself unable to focus on the music and the dancing. Playing the wrong set of chords on his electric guitar was the last straw for Austin. He needed his mojo back and in order to get it back, everything needed to be right with Ally.

Placing the guitar snuggly in its traveling case, Austin watched his band and backup dancers. All of them surprised by his actions, they all stood stock still mid dance move. Ignoring them, Austin packed up the rest of his belongings.

"Sorry," he called back to them as he rushed out the door with his guitar and amp in arm. "There's someplace else I have to be."

The musicians and dancers looked at each other once Austin was completely out of sight. They all knew he was going home to make up with his wife.

With his belongings safely in the back of the car, Austin grabbed his phone from his pocket, thumbing out a quick text.

**xXx**

Stopping right before the checkout lanes at the local grocery store, Ally counted the items in her cart, checking things off of her mental shopping list. Pickles. Check. Extra pancake mix. Check. Raisin Bran. Check. Lucky Charms. Check. Maple syrup. Check. Butter. Check. Eggs. Check. Chocolate ice cream to survive any upcoming fights with Austin. Check. Content with the items sitting in the cart, Ally moved into the line of fellow customers to wait.

That's when her phone chirped. Sighing, Ally reached into her black purse to grab the device. One new text from Austin. Ally almost dropped the phone back into her purse to ignore the message, but then thought better of it. Opening the text, she quickly scanned it.

_B home 1. Grabbing lunch 4 us on way. See u soon. Love ya._

The shorthand drove her crazy, but Ally couldn't help but smile at the message. Austin was coming home to help her write a song. Maybe she didn't need three extra boxes of pancake mix as a peace offering after all.

**xXx**

Things were quiet and conversation was short when they were together. Austin knew Ally was still a little upset with him and Ally knew Austin wanted to be practicing with his band. Nobody said anything though, lest another fight broke out amongst them.

Ally took a deep breath before playing a melody on the piano for Austin.

Austin smirked, watching her play. "So are the three extra boxes of pancake mix a peace offering or something?" he asked.

The melody ended abruptly and Ally turned around to face him. "Or something," she replied. "Were the extra pickles on my sandwich a peace offering or something?"

Austin grinned, taking a seat next to her at the piano. "Or something," he said.

Ally smiled as she repositioned herself at the piano. As she replayed the melody she had come up with earlier, she couldn't help but keep stealing glances in Austin's direction. Austin smiled back at her. Everything else was forgotten. They were together with their music and they were happy. For now, Ally couldn't help but think that everything would be okay.

Austin listened intently to what Ally was playing, before he joined in an octave higher, trying to copy the movements of her fingers. The duet continued, both of them starting to rock back and forth the more they got into the music and really started to feel it. When they stopped, they both looked at each other, grinning.

"I like this melody." It was Austin who spoke first.

Ally blushed in response to his praise. Grabbing her songbook from a top the piano, she flipped through the pages looking for lyrics. Finding the page, she was looking for, she smoothed down the pages, setting it on the music stand. Austin leaned closer into her, touching the corner of her book to better see the words on the page.

_Do you remember when_

_I said we hit the jackpot?_

_Things were oh so easy then, so easy then._

_Now everything's starting to rot._

Austin didn't read more than a few lines before he grabbed the book and closed it. "That's depressing and it sucks."

Ally snatched her book away from him, giving him a signature glance that seemed to say: _Don't touch my book. _Sighing, she placed the book back on top of the piano and turned to face him. Not wanting to fight with him, she opted to reason with him instead. "Austin, the melody's in a minor chord. It's supposed to sound sad."

"But depressing is so not me!" Austin argued. "It's more you."

Ally shot upwards like a rocket, stomping over to the futon nestled in the back corner of the room. "What?" she asked, a fire burning in her eyes. "Are you saying I'm depressed?" She faced the wall, not looking at him.

Austin wasn't exactly sure what Ally was talking about right now. Was it even possible for somebody to be depressed when the sun was shining like it was doing today? He slid around so he was facing her. Slowly, he said, "If depressed means your songs lately are way too sad, then yes."

"First my idea sucks. Now I'm depressed?"

"Why can't we write a happy song? About pancakes and pickles! No one can be sad while eating pancakes or pickles!"

Ally turned around. "That is the worst idea you've ever given me! Nobody wants to hear a song about pancakes and pickles!"

"And only depressed people want to hear depressing songs!"

Ally sighed, running her fingers through her hair. Austin was being so unfair. He reads a couple lines before he decides he doesn't like it. Unsure of what to do, Ally slumped into the futon's plush cushion. Closing her eyes, she tried to imagine all the good times her and Austin had shared since they started dating all those years ago, hoping to find some inspiration for some happier lyrics. Then they could switch the minor chords to major chords. Then, maybe Austin would be happy.

"Hand me my book please?" she asked.

Shrugging, Austin tossed it over to her.

Barely catching it, Ally responded with, "and a pen."

Again Austin tossed it. The pen thumped her forehead before falling into her lap.

The blue pen vigorously moved over the white paper as Ally hastily written whatever came to mind. Every so often, she absentmindedly chewed the end of the pen. Her brown eyes once again scanning the page, Ally was content with her work. Once again, she wandered back over to the piano. Once again, she smoothed the pages out so her book stood still on the stand. Fingers on the keys, she started to play again, singing the words she had just written.

_Do you remember me throwing rocks at your bedroom window?_

_I came calling at midnight and your daddy didn't know._

_Sneaking out so we could be together,_

_All I was thinking was, "I've got to kiss her." _

Austin tapped his foot to the music. Nodding his head, he responded. "It's catchy."

"I don't know about the words," Ally replied.

"It's happy and it's fun. That's what people want to hear."

Ally shook her head. "I don't know, maybe you should give your fans something new. All of your songs are fast and upbeat. What if you slowed things down a little bit and-"

It was Austin's turn to stand up like a rocket shooting into space. "I am not going to go all sensitive and girly on my fans!"

Ally rolled her eyes. "So showing emotion is a bad thing?"

Austin whined. "It's girly."

"You're such a guy."

"That's what you like about me," Austin replied with his arrogant and smug little smirk.

Ally took a deep breath, trying to calm down. She was out of ideas and Austin didn't seem to be pleased with anything she suggested. Ally stood up as well, wandering over to the mini fridge to pull out a bottle of water. Ignoring him, Ally guzzled down half of the contents at once. Walking back over to the piano, Ally placed the bottle on top of the instrument and grabbed her book. Flipping back a few pages, Ally leaned closer to him, pointing to the words on the page.

"What do you think of that?" she asked him with a small exasperated sigh.

Austin chuckled, reading the words. Turning his back on Ally, he mumbled, "and I thought my writing was bad."

Abruptly, the book snapped closed, sounding like a gunshot as it banged onto the piano bench. Startled by the sudden noise, Austin turned back around to see Ally standing before him, her hands on her hips. She was ready to fight.

"First I'm depressed and my ideas suck. Now my writing is bad?!" she yelled in question. Austin opened his mouth to respond, but she refused to let him get a word in edge wise. "If I'm too depressed for you and my writing is so horrible, maybe you should go find yourself another songwriter!"

"Fine! Maybe I will."

"Fine!" She yelled back at him. Although she told him to find another songwriter, she didn't think he'd actually agree. Angry at him for even wanting to find another songwriter, she threw her uncapped bottled water at him. The water splashed, spilling over him and the immediate area. Grabbing her book, she stomped upstairs to the main level of their home.

"Where are you going?!" Austin called after her.

"Out!"

He knew things weren't good when he heard the front door slam shut.


	3. I'm Sorry

She seemed to relax, the fingers gently stroking her dark brown curls as she rested her head in her mother's lap just like she used to do as a child. Although her sobs had long since settled into tiny little mews so she could breathe properly, Ally didn't want to leave the safe confines of her mother's arms. Penny Dawson didn't complain, knowing full well that one did not outgrow the need for their mother when they grew up. And so she didn't say anything to Ally. Just being there to hold the upset woman was enough.

"Why does he have to be such a jerk sometimes?" Ally asked her mother between light sobs.

Penny smiled down at her daughter, continuing to stroke her hair. "Because he's a guy," was all she could say in answer. Ally's sobs ceased altogether as she picked her head up so she could look at her mother. "And they're all programmed that way."

**xXx**

Austin couldn't help but pace the kitchen of his parents' home as he complained to his father about Ally. Mike Moon sighed, listening to his grown son rant about how crazy and how angry Ally made him feel for the millionth time. He could remember being Austin's age and complaining to his own father about his wife, Mimi. The ranting made Mike want to plug his ears while the pacing made him go dizzy. Yet, while he wished for Austin to stop, he knew that the young man needed to get this off of his chest.

"I just don't get it!" Austin exclaimed in frustration, his fingers tugging at his blond locks. Stopping in front of his father seated at the table, Austin slams in palms down on the table to support his point of being upset. "She tells me to find another god damn songwriter and gets even more upset when I agree with her! If she doesn't want me to get another songwriter, then why'd she even suggest in the first place?" His pacing started up again as he continued to think of what else he should tell his father. "Oh," he added as a thought popped into his head. "And she accuses me of calling her depressed, like I even know what the word means!" Screaming to let his frustration out, he yelled, "Why does she have to make so crazy?!"

Mike motioned for Austin to take a seat at the table. Austin did as his father instructed, curious as to what the older man would say. Patting Austin's hand in a sympathetic and understanding fatherly way, Mike decided to tell him exactly what his father had told him several years before. "It's because she's a girl, Son," he said. "They're supposed to drive us crazy with their mood swings."

**xXx**

"Well it's stupid," Ally replied, sitting all the way up. Wiping the last of her tears with her fingers as she did so.

Smiling at her daughter's comment, Penny rubbed her back. Then hugging the younger woman, she replied, "Boys are stupid, Sweetie."

Ally pulled away. "Even dad?" She asked.

"If he wasn't, I'd still be married to him."

Ally smiled at her mother's comment, suddenly feeling better. However, she grew somber once again with her lips marring into another perpetual frown. Embarrassed by the thought that took hold in her mind, Ally looked down at her hands in her lap. "Do you think my marriage will end in divorce?" She whispered.

Divorce was something no mother wanted for their child to experience and while Penny wanted so badly to tell her daughter that her marriage wouldn't end in divorce, she knew Ally deserved the truth. So, sighing, Penny repositioned herself so she was facing Ally. Looking the younger woman in the eyes, Penny grabbed her hands as she did so. Slowly so Ally would fully understand, she explained that she didn't know what would happen in her marriage. Finally she ended her speech with words of wisdom:

"Avoiding divorce is easy. When the word is not in your vocabulary, it isn't an option. Just keep in mind that when it is mentioned, it seems like the only option."

A few stray tears escaped, but Ally did nothing to hide them or wipe them away. "I might hate him sometimes, but I don't want to lose him."

All Penny could do was pat Ally's hand, completely understanding how the young woman was feeling.

**xXx**

Austin abruptly pulled his hand away from his father's. "Yeah, well. I think it's stupid." He said.

Mike chuckled as he stood up from his seat at the table. Ignoring Austin, he wandered over to the refrigerator, looking for a cold drink. Holding the door open, he allowed the cold air to wash over him as he replied, "Think what you want." With a quick shrug of his shoulders, he grabbed a can of Pepsi. Closing the door, he turned back around to face the younger man. "But if you said half of the things to her that you've told me, I'm surprised you didn't receive a call from either of her parents' lawyers yet."

**xXx**

Having spent all afternoon crying in her mother's arms, it was late by the time Ally arrived home from walking out during her fight with Austin. Although the fight had occurred several hours earlier, the sting of his words was still too near. The first sight she was greeted by was Austin's bare back as sat on the edge of the couch, leaning forward, his elbows resting on his knees. The TV was turned on revealing a video game. The slick black Xbox controller silently obeying every command as Austin pressed button after button, slaying evil. And while it was true what she had told her mother about losing Austin, Ally realized that she just couldn't make up with him yet. If he could act like nothing had happened and that his words hadn't of hurt her like a knife to the heart, then she didn't even want to see him. Ignoring him, she stomped past him and up the stairs to their bedroom.

"Feel free to sleep on the couch tonight." She called back to him.

"I was thinking the same thing!" He shot back, not bothering to fight the force that kept his eyes glued to the television screen.

Some hours later when his vision became blurred from the sleep trying to overcome him, Austin turned off the game console and settled into the sofa, trying to get comfortable as he waited for sleep to come. However, slumber eluded him, causing him to roll onto his back. Unable to get comfortable, he stared up at the ceiling, watching the shadows dance around. Pulling the thin blanket tighter around him, Austin realized that things had been strained between him and Ally for a while now. Never before had he thought that divorce was an option for them. At least he thought it wasn't until he caught a glimpse of that _Cheetah Beat _article.

Ally lay awake that night, staring at the empty space beside her. Why did Austin have to be so unfair? Why couldn't he just apologize and admit that he was wrong? Why did it seem like every fight they had grew in intensity until they couldn't stand to be in the same room? Why couldn't they go back to the good old days of high school where any stupid little fight usually ended in a make out session? Life had been so much easier then. Letting a lone and silent tear escape and trail down her cheek, Ally rolled onto her other side so she was facing the wall.

**xXx**

When a reasonable hour to get up finally rolled around, Ally knew she hadn't of gotten much sleep. Trudging to the en suite bath, she yawned as she locked the door behind her. Something she never did in case Austin needed something. Allowing the hot water of the shower to spray over her naked body, Ally tried to relax. The small task seemed almost impossible, however as she thought of the day before.

Austin was already up by the time she stepped into the kitchen fully dressed for the upcoming day. Her damp hair was rolled into a towel to dry. Usually, Austin would slyly tug on her towel, causing her auburn curls to tumble down her back. This morning the usual play banter was caged with the key thrown away. With him still clad in his sweatpants from the night before, Austin forcefully shoved spoonful after spoonful of Lucky Charms into his mouth as if the cereal had somehow offended him and not the woman pouring herself a bowl of Raisin Bran at the counter.

"What, no pancakes?" Ally asked taking a seat at the island as far away from Austin as possible.

She watched as a little bit of milk fell from his mouth and slopped onto his plain t-shirt as he opened his mouth to speak. "You bought a box of blueberry pancake mix," he replied between spoonful's of cereal as if his answer explained everything.

Ally didn't see what the problem was. "So?"

"So?!" He shot back. "Nobody puts fruit in pancakes!"

Ally continued to frown between bites of her own breakfast. While she normally chose not to correct him, she decided to this time, because she wanted to goad him and knew it would irritate him. "Actually a lot of people put fruit in pancakes," she explained. "And blueberries are berries. Not fruit."

"Same thing."

Frowning, Ally decided to ignore Austin's stupid comment and eat in silence, yesterday still at the forefront of their minds.

The sound of a jiggling lock surprised Ally as the front door squeaked open. Knowing that the front door should still be locked, Ally crept to the front of the house, keeping up her guard at all times. Austin didn't seem fazed by the noise at all. His calmness unsettled her. How could one be calm when someone was trying to break into their home? A sigh of relief escaped her lips as she recognized the bushy black hair of their intruder. Trish De La Rosa. Ally went back to her breakfast as Trish followed her to the kitchen. Once Ally had settled back to her breakfast, more clamoring was heard from outside. A thump resonated against the door.

"Oaf."

Nobody needed to leave the kitchen to investigate the source of the loud clamor. Their suspicions were confirmed when Dez walked through the house, rubbing his forehead. "You could have held the door open, Trish!" The freckled boy complained.

Waving her hand in a fluent motion to cut him off, she replied. "Yeah, Yeah. Whatever, Freckles." Then turning her attention back to the home owners, she asked an amused Austin and a bewildered Ally the question she had come to ask. In her distinct voice and with her arms up in her signature pose, she asked excitedly, "Guess who's the guest performer at Marino High School's talent show?"

"Austin Moon?" Austin asked excitedly, wanting to get back on stage in front of a live audience. And what better place than at his old high school where his career basically started?

Ally scrunched her nose as if she were appalled by the thought of Austin performing. "Forget him," she said before a smile of her own spread across her face. Just as excitedly as Austin, she added, "Ally Moon?"

Frowning, Dez snorted as he motioned between the two. "You guys are really good at this game."

Ignoring Dez's comment, Austin and Ally both looked curiously over at Trish. "So who's performing?" They asked simultaneously.

"Austin and Ally!"

Comprehending Trish's answer, the fighting couple looked each other in the eye. Glares seemed to emanate from the other's emotion filled eyes. They each had their own career and after yesterday, performing on stage together was the last thing either of them wanted to do. Averting her gaze from Austin's hazel eyes, Ally rolled her eyes at Trish's answer. Then, remaining silent, she placed her dirty cereal bowl into the kitchen sink.

Trish knew something was going on between Austin and Ally.

Normally, they had pancakes for breakfast. Normally, they sat next to each other, touching and flirting; sitting as far away from each other was something unheard of for them. Ever since Austin and Ally had become a couple all of those years ago, they were nearly inseparable with love as the only emotion channeling between them.

This strange behavior was not lost on Trish.

"Is everything okay?" She asked the couple suspiciously.

"Everything's fine!" Ally snapped.

Dez leaned against the island next to Austin, pressing his cheek against his palm. Scrutinizing them, the love whisperer looked from Austin to Ally. His gaze darted back and forth between them for quite some time before he finally spoke. "I can't put my finger on it," he said, "but something's definitely different this morning."

Smacking the stupid out of her red headed friend, Trish exclaimed rather annoyed. "Of course it is, you Doof!" Dez rubbed the spot on his face where Trish had smacked him. "Because Austin's not eating pancakes and Ally would rather burn her eyes with acid than look at him!"

Taking into account what Trish had said, Dez looked back and forth between them, once again scrutinizing them. "No," he replied with a shake of his head. "That's not it."

Dramatically rolling her eyes at his ignorance, Trish focused on the couple. Then in order to make her point, she slammed a folded yellow piece of paper on the counter beside Austin. "I don't care about your marital problems!" she exclaimed overzealously as she did so. "Just have them fixed by eleven o'clock!"

"Eleven?" Austin nervously squeaked, risking a glance towards Ally. How were they supposed to fix everything between them in just a few short hours?

Closing her eyes, Ally took a deep breath as she tried not to think about her problems with Austin. Focusing on the news that Trish had given them, she tried to relax. However, one question nagged her from the back of her mind keeping her from relaxing. Sighing, she slowly turned around. She took another deep breath.

"Why didn't you let us know earlier?" She asked the question that had plagued her since Trish's announcement.

"Because none of ya answer your damn phones!" Trish exclaimed in outrage as she stood of her toes to grab the collar of Dez's t-shirt. Pulling his head to her level, she yanked him through the house and out the front door the way they had come.

"Sorry," Ally muttered sarcastically to her retreating friends, but couldn't help but wonder if their lazy manager had just forgotten to tell them earlier and was passing the blame to them.

She left the room.

Austin sat there, watching her retreating form. When his wife was finally out of sight, he sighed, taking a look at the paper that Trish had left on the counter. The yellow piece of paper revealed itself to be a copy of the talent show's program. Scanning the words, he smiled as his brain registered what it was reading. The theme, _A Blast from the Past, _brought so many delicious flashbacks to mind. According to the program, he and Ally were not only opening and closing the show, but performing during intermission as well. Closing his eyes, he floated back in time to the days where he and Ally were students at the high school, anxiously awaiting their turns to go on stage to perform in the exact same talent show. Looking back, everything seemed so simple in those days because they were together and love was all they needed. Popping his hazel colored eyes open, he peered at the itinerary. They were to perform four hit songs from the time when their careers were still new and exciting. First Ally would take the stage with "I'm Finally Me". Then he would rock the socks of the audience with his personal favorite, "Double Take". During the brief intermission, he and Ally would perform together with "You Can Come to Me" before ending the show with "Don't Look Down". It wouldn't be so bad, Austin mused. Even if the songs were almost a decade old, they still knew them like they knew each other.

He placed his own dishes in the sink before following Ally upstairs.

**xXx**

Wow, Austin thought to himself as he and Ally wandered through the halls of their old high school, guitar and music in hand. Looking around, he noticed that nothing had really changed since they last stepped foot in the school which happened to be their graduation day, seven years ago. The halls were empty, which meant that the student body was already packed like sardines into the auditorium, anxiously awaiting their name to be called so they could perform their respected talents. Austin was grateful to be alone in the maze of hallways though with Ally. It gave them the perfect chance to think about their own performance.

Arriving to their destination, Austin pulled the door open. Being the gentleman his mother raised him to be, he let her enter first. "How do you want to do this?" he asked as they made their way behind stage.

Voice strained, Ally walked ahead of him. Keeping her voice low so prying ears of their old teachers wouldn't hear, she replied curtly. "Let's just try to get through the next hour."

"Fine."

"Fine."

"Fine."

Their childish actions of trying to appear better in agreement than the other probably would have continued, if it weren't for their former principle, Mr. Pier, coming to greet them. Shaking Ally's hand first and then Austin's, he greeted them by name. As he explained the order of the show to them, Austin's gaze couldn't help but look at the strained buttons of the man's suit coat. He had put on a significant amount of weight since Austin had seen him last. Doing his best not to comment on the snug clothing, Austin nodded in agreement to what the man said. When he stepped out on the stage to greet his current students, Austin found himself sighing in relief.

"Welcome to annual end of the year talent show," his strong, authoritative voice spoke clearly into the microphone on stage. "As you well know, an alumni of this school is invited back to start the show. Since our theme this year is _A Blast from the Past, _we're lucky to have two former students join us this year. These former students are going to blast us all back to the past as they perform the songs that put their names together. Because you can't have one without the other, please help me give a big warm welcome to Austin and Ally!"

Hearing the excited, thunderous applause from the students in the audience, the principle returned the microphone he was using back onto its stand. Then he stepped off stage to make room for the two musicians.

Ally took her place in front of the microphone as Austin positioned himself at the piano located at the corner of the stage. Adjusting the stand to better accommodate her short stature, she briefly closed her eyes, mentally preparing herself to sing. Then with a wide grin, she looked out over the sea of students as the spotlight settled onto her. Waving to the crowd, she began to introduce herself.

"Hey everybody, I'm Ally Moon. When I was your age, I was absolutely terrified to get up on stage. You'd know if you've seen the You Tube video of me wrecking the Helen Show."

Suddenly and unexpectedly, Austin stood up from the piano to add, "Even though it's been ten years, it's still one of the most viewed videos of all time!"

Frowning at his outburst, she ignored the crowd to turn to glare at him. "Thank you for the reminder, Austin," she smiled smugly.

As she turned back to the audience, in classic Austin Moon fashion, he gave a little bow before reclaiming his seat on the piano bench.

"Anyways," she took a deep breath before continuing. "For the longest time my fear crippled my dreams of getting up on stage. Then one day, I decided to face my fears and get up on stage and sing. I was able to conquer my stage fright. This song is a tribute to that."

Ally didn't need to motion to him. He just seemed to know when she was ready to sing. So after the brief introductions, his fingers began to dance over the shiny black and white keys of the piano.

Allowing the music to wash over her, Ally found that she couldn't concentrate on anything but the music. And even though Austin was not too far away, his fingers gracefully dancing along the keys as he played the accompanist's music, it was as if he was a million miles away. It was times like this when their issues and their fights didn't exist. They didn't exist, because he didn't exist. It was just her and her music, like it was while she was child. Both of her parents had been adamant about her learning the piano. From there she went on to learn and master several other musical instruments. Of course, no one had ever heard her music or bothered to care about her music until Austin Moon had crash landed into her life with a pair of corn dogs. And why did all of her thoughts always go back to the man seated at the piano?

Finally, the song ended and she found herself being yanked back to reality by the last few notes of the piano. Cutting last note a little short, she heard Austin's voice over the applause. Unfortunately the same sound she cherished so much, still repulsed her. Taking a quick bow, she disappeared backstage as Austin moved his way to the microphone.

"She's talented, isn't she?" she heard him say into the microphone which was interrupted by the thunderous applause for her. A smile crept over his face upon hearing his compliment. Grabbing their copy of the program, she quickly scribbled new lyrics onto it with a black pen. His voice sounded again once the applause had started to die down. "Don't worry; you'll see her again later on."

Austin looked out over the crowd just as Ally had done just a few minutes before. It was hard to believe that a handful of years ago, he was a member of the crowd, waiting for his big break into the music world. That big break had come in the form of a stolen song, or of a skinny and shy teenage girl named Ally Dawson. It wasn't the song that had made him famous and he knew it. And as much as he hated to admit it, she was the reason for his humungous career.

"Most of you were probably still in elementary school when I got my big break," Austin said, overlooking the crowd once again. Damn, he thought. He had been fifteen then, the same age many of these kids were now. No, he would not think about how old the thought made him feel. "My big break came when I was your age and I met the lovely lady you have just seen on stage. After stealing her song and making an awesome music video to upload on You Tube, she was not happy with me. Anyways, she agreed to be my music partner and write my songs. Then a few years later, that proposition to be my partner, turned into a marriage proposal and because we have the same last name, she was obviously crazy enough to say yes." After earning a few laughs from the crowd he continued. "So what do you say we get this party started?" The crowd began to cheer as he sidestepped to the right and then to the left. His head violently shaking every which way as he looked the eluding object. Unable to see it, she skipped over to the piano. It wasn't there either. Sheepishly, he walked back over to the microphone, rubbing the back of his neck, nervously. That's embarrassing, he thought as he looked at the crowd again. "Have any of you seen my guitar?" He was rewarded by more laughter. At least they were getting a few good laughs at his expense. "Seriously," he said into the microphone, "feel free to talk amongst yourselves while I try to figure out what I did with it."

He didn't so much as finish the sentence before the familiar sound of click clacking heels stepped onto the stage. Turning around, he was met by Ally walking towards him with his guitar in hand. Flustered, he took his guitar from her, and sighing in relief, he slipped the strap over his shoulders. Turning back around to face the crowd, he heard her retreating off stage again. Smiling, he said into the microphone. "It's a good thing she's my wife and not just my songwriter, otherwise I'd be completely lost."

Smiling at his comment, she heard about half of the crowd laugh and the other half romantically cooing. Rolling her eyes at the 'universal aw', she hastened her departure. Austin Moon was a funny guy. There was no denying that. Sweet? Well, the jury was still out on that one.

Ready to begin the show, Austin looked towards stage left, giving a quick nod before looking back towards the sea of high school students eagerly waiting for him to begin. This time, the entire auditorium grew darker and darker until they were all plummeted into pitch blackness.

"Flip a switch…"

Then suddenly with a flip of a switch, the lights swirled back on, illuminating the rock star dancing around the stage.

**xXx**

Relieved that their opening performance went well, Austin sighed as he stepped backstage. However, Ally, with a surprisingly strong grip, grabbed the sleeve of his jacket, pulling him away. Pushing the doors open that led to the rest of the school, she led him through the maze of hallways until they were in the courtyard of blue lockers. Finally alone without the prying ears of students or faculty, Ally let go of him. The perpetual frown etched across her lips told Austin that she was going to take a jab at him. Vehemently, her arms crossed over her chest, pushing her breast closer together and upwards. Austin swallowed hard, knowing full well that if not for the scowl marring her pretty features, he'd be finding himself turned on. After all, he hadn't had her in a painfully long time.

"What the hell was that?!" She cussed at him. The only time she ever cussed was when she was blatantly upset. Like now. "If that's poor excuse of an apology, I don't accept it."

It was never intended to be an apology. After all, he felt that she still needed to apologize to him. The next two songs of their performance were duets. He was just hoping to sweeten her up so they didn't botch the job. If they couldn't talk civilly to one another now, then how did they expect to sing together later? Sighing, he buried his face in his hands. They didn't need an apology and they didn't need to kiss and make up yet. As long as they could bury the bloody hatchet long enough to get through "You Can Come To Me," then they would be good. If not, they would automatically sign the death warrants to their careers.

The press would have an absolute field day with that. He could see the painfully humiliating headlines almost as clearly as he could see Ally standing before him. _Atrocious Duet by Austin and Ally._ _Divorce Designed for Dynamic Duo._ No, they didn't need that kind of publicity.

The only excuse he came up with even sounded lame to his ears. He knew she would never buy it. "I forgot where I left my guitar."

"Bullshit."

She was kind of sexy when she cussed at him and Austin immediately thought back to the other handful of times she had cussed and what had happened. Okay, if she continued to cuss like she was, then she would find herself pushed up against the lockers so fast and so hard, that she wouldn't know the force that hit her until his lips were hungrily syncing with hers. Or at least she would be, if he knew that she wouldn't neuter him in his sleep.

So, jabbing her finger into his chest, she continued to pour her soul out to him, screaming at him exactly what he didn't want to hear. He was hardly home. He spent way too much at the studio or with his band. He didn't appreciate her talent as a songwriter. He didn't accept her skyrocketing career.

Feeling the need to defend his actions, he yelled back. "You know I was preparing for my tour! In case you've forgotten, it kicks off in two days!" Grabbing her wrists, he forcefully yanked her arms to her sides. As much as she struggled against him to pull out of his grasp. His grip was just too strong for her to shake. "This European tour is big for my career!"

"I don't care about your damn career!" She spat at him, again trying to break free from his ever tightening grip on her arms. "I've went on all of your tours, Austin! I put my career on hold so many times for you! Well, now it's my turn! It's my turn to have the people screaming my name! By the time you get back, they'll be screaming my name so loud, they won't even remember your name!"

Enraged, Austin removed his grip from her arms, leaving bright red handprints on her pale skin. He was so angry now. Never in the past seven years that they've been married, had he remembered being so angry with her. As anger hijacked the car of his actions, recklessly driving, Austin found he had lost complete control over his emotions and his actions. Unable to control himself, his reach extended, sending a deafening smack across her face.

Recoiling like a rattle snake that had just struck its unsuspecting victim, Ally stepped back in utter shock at Austin's actions. Not once had he even thought of hitting her. Not once, had he even come close. Her hand came up to rub away the pain of the stinging blow.

He wasn't done though. He did not hit her again with hand or fist but with his words. "I'm the reason you even have a career!" He shouted to her. "Austin Moon is the reason that Ally Dawson got discovered!"

Regaining her strength to fight back after the blow she suffered, she furiously pounded his chest as if it was a bongo drum. "You didn't have anything to do with my career! I got up on stage and sang! I conquered my stage fright! You had nothing to do with it!"

Taking a deep breath, trying to keep his raging emotions in check so that he would not hit her again, Austin stepped away from her and turned his back to her. Then, he walked away.

Ally refused to follow him. Nor did she pine for him. She stormed off in the other direction.

**xXx**

Thunderous applause once again erupted from the heart of the audience as they made their way back to the stage during intermission. Although the last thing either of them wanted to do was smile, they played the happy family for their audience. Ally quickly adjusted the height of the microphone stand as Austin did the same to the second microphone that had been brought out on stage. Worried about the performance they'd give, especially after the fight that had left them both reeling, Austin quickly glanced over at her using his peripheral vision. She wouldn't even look at him. Sighing, he adjusted his guitar. Then content that Ally was ready to sing, he began strumming away and the first few beats filled the crowded room.

Quietly, Ally's voice illuminated the room as she tightly clutched the microphone in her hands. She knew the words as well as she knew all the notes on the treble clef. As she continued to sing, she'd be lying if she said that the words had no meaning to her or to her life. Then as if an outside force was taking control over her actions, she felt her gaze shift to left gaze at the man standing beside her. And as quickly as she peeked, she averted her eyes once again. She was still mad at him.

Austin seemed to have a better grip on his emotions as his voice filled the room. Just like he was that one person to throw the rope to save her when she was all alone, she was that person that always seemed to know when he wasn't feeling strong. It wasn't until he heard her voice mesh together with his in perfect harmony that he felt his inner strength wavering as he felt an unnatural force guiding his eyes to the woman beside him. It took all of his strength to fight against the force that kept drawing his eyes to Ally every time their voices blended in unison. It was then that he knew that he wasn't just singing the words off a page. He was singing them directly to her, pouring his heart out to her, telling her exactly what she meant to him.

Ally wasn't exactly sure when they stopped singing the words and when they had started speaking straight to each other's soul. All she knew as she removed the microphone from the stand so she was face to face with Austin, she was no longer upset with him. Because she just wasn't singing the words for entertainment any more. She was singing them directly to Austin; because they're everything she wants him to know. And as he turned to face her, still strumming away on the guitar, they sang the last chorus in unison. At that moment, Ally felt a smile form across her lips as she sang because she knew that Austin had forgiven her just as she had forgiven him.

Almost grinning, she sang the last line softly into the microphone being held between them. "You can come to me, yeah."

Austin let his guitar fall to his side, being held only by the strap. Stepping closer to Ally, he wanted to show her all of the love he still felt for her and would always feel for her. Gently, placing his hands on her waist, he felt her relax to his touch as her arms snaked around his neck. Leaning in closer and closer, their lips met, shooting off fireworks. Well aware of their surroundings, Austin pulled away before the kiss became too passionate. None the less, he stooped down so their foreheads were touching.

"I'm sorry," he apologized to her. That was all he needed to say, because she knew that he meant every word.

So she said the only thing that she could. "I'm sorry too."


	4. Celebrity Marriages

Ally refused to get out of bed as she thought about the events of the previous days. With the sun streaming in through the curtains, she rolled onto her stomach, burying her face in her pillow. The last few days had been absolutely insane. They had fought intensely, sending Ally into tears more than once. However, the more intense the fight, the more passionate the make-up sex was. She was just grateful that they had made up in time to finish the song they had started and since forgotten after the fight had broken out. More than that, she was even more grateful that they had made up before Austin left on his tour. If the tour arrived and they still weren't speaking to each other, Ally would have known for a fact that when they arrived home to Miami, they'd find themselves divorced and single. But that wasn't the case, giving Ally hope that they may have a chance yet.

Unable to fight the brightness of the sun, even with her face buried in the pillow, the young woman decided to get up. So, throwing the covers back, she looked around. Austin was already up, leaving only the wrinkled sheets as evidence that he'd actually been there. Hearing the soft cascade of the shower running and the muffled sound of his singing voice, she smirked, looking down at her naked body from the night before. In a few short hours, he would be aboard an international flight heading for England. Wanting him to be with her again, she quietly made her way to the bathroom. Pulling the shower curtain back a little, she stepped in behind him. With his back to her, she wrapped her arms around his torso from behind, planting delicate little kisses on his shoulders.

**xXx**

Fumbling with the lock on the front door, Trish cursed. "God, why do they lock their doors at night? We live in Miami! It's not like the crime rate is ridiculously high or anything!" She snatched the key from Dez's hand.

"I don't know," Dez replied, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his striped pants as he waited for her to unlock the door. "There have been a series of home invasions, lately."

"Oh please," Trish said with a roll of her eyes, flipping her long black hair over her shoulder. "It's not like they own anything worth stealing."

"Do you know how much a Kleenex used by Austin Moon goes for on eBay?" Dez asked, "Or the cotton swabs Ally Moon uses to remove her makeup?" When he received no answer, he continued in a higher sing-song pitch to emphasize his point. "A lot."

With the door unlocked, Trish pushed it open. Stepping inside into the darkened corridor, she was contemplating other ways to get rich quick. "I wonder how much a used condom or tampon would sell for."

**xXx**

Hearing the jabber of the all too familiar voices downstairs, Ally groaned. Feeling her frustration, Austin kissed her head. Then in one swift movement, he turned the shower off, grabbing a towel from the nearby towel rack. After he was dry, he effortlessly threw his towel at Ally so she could dry her dripping body as he disappeared to get dressed.

"The door's locked," Ally mused, following him. "How do they keep getting in?"

Pulling on a pair of blue jeans, Austin turned away from her as she dressed. Sheepishly, he admitted the truth. "They have a key."

Shocked at his revelation, Ally dropped her bra in surprise. Picking it up, she asked in confirmation. "They have a key?" She only received a grunt from Austin. "Why do they have a key?"

Turning around so he could look at her, Austin pulled a white t-shirt over his head, watching her get dressed in a cute sundress. "Remember our third anniversary, and we could finally afford to go on a real honeymoon?" Ally nodded in agreement, remembering their trip to Italy, smiling coyly to herself at the memories that flooded to her mind. Grabbing a zip up hoody to complete his look, Austin continued as he ran a comb through his hair. "And do you remember Rex?"

Ally frowned at his question, as she ran a brush through her snarly curls. "The goldfish you won at the fair?" Seeing Austin nod his head in confirmation, Ally continued. "What about it?"

"We were gone for a month," Austin reminded Ally. "Somebody had to look after the place and feed Rex for us." Ally didn't reply. But knowing that what he did was the responsible thing to do and knowing that Ally liked responsibility, he added, laying the charm on as thickly as one would pour hot fudge over vanilla ice cream, he said smiling, "I know. I'm a nice guy."

Frowning, Ally wandered back to the bathroom to gaze at her reflection in the full length mirror. Satisfied with her appearance, she walked back to Austin. "I remember coming home to opened mail, a trashed house, and a dead goldfish."

**xXx**

Flipping the pancakes to golden brown perfection, Ally divided them onto four plates, since Dez and Trish had so kindly invited themselves to breakfast. Settling into the stool next to Austin, Ally poured a light amount of maple syrup over her stack of pancakes, uneasily eyeing Dez as he slapped half of a stick of butter on his pancakes along with peanut butter, before heavily dumping a quarter of the bottle of syrup. Shaking her head, she delicately began cutting the flap jacks into perfect little bites.

Austin just stared at the pancakes, poking them with his fork as if they were some foreign dish that looked more like something a cat threw up. "Ally," he whined.

Dez and Trish were silently eating, except for the fact that Dez sounded and looked more like a cow chewing cud since he refused to chew with his mouth closed. Putting her fork down on the table, Ally turned so she was facing her husband. Concerned that something was wrong with him, she placed the back of her hand over his forehead to feel his body temperature. "What's wrong, Austin?"

"There's chocolate chips in my pancakes."

Removing her hand from his head, Ally frowned. "That's because they're chocolate chip pancakes, Austin," she explained through bites of her own.

"Nobody puts chocolate in pancakes!"

With a roll of her eyes, Ally handed him the butter and the syrup so he could dress his stack of pancakes. "Just try it. You'll like it."

Uncertainly, Austin spread the butter and the syrup over his pancakes before taking a small bite. Deciding that he liked the taste of chocolate chip pancakes, he dug in with much gusto.

With each of them eating their own breakfast, silence engulfed the room. However, silence can't remain for long in the presence of Dez and Trish. A sticky mixture of butter and syrup splashed, splattering the faces of three unsuspecting occupants of the table. Outraged that the sticky mixture landed in her hair and in her eye, Trish's eyes narrowed as she realized where the mess had come from. Glaring at the unsuspecting boy happily munching away at the delectable breakfast, she grabbed a tuft of his red hair. Then, with as much force and strength as she could muster, she slammed his freckled face into his plate of hot pancakes, causing more of the sticky mess to splatter. However she didn't mind this time, because the look of his face when she pulled it out of his plate caused her to laugh hysterically.

**xXx**

Hearing the uncontrollable laughter coming from the backseat, Ally looked in the rearview mirror to see Dez and Trish huddled close together watching some sort of video on an ipad. Rolling her eyes, she glanced over at Austin who was twisted in his seat, so he was facing their friends. "What's so funny?" she asked, afraid she'd regret asking.

"Ooh," Dez sang, grinning from ear to ear in amusement. "Someone got a little flushed on stage."

"What are you talking about?" Ally asked.

Leaning forward, Trish simultaneously smacked Austin and Ally's shoulders. "I told you sing to a bunch of kids, not be the subjects of a porno video!"

"What are you talking about?" Ally repeated.

"I'm talking about that kiss on stage!" Trish said exclaimed.

"It was just a kiss," Austin defended.

Snorting, Trish shoved the device into his hands. Surprised at her actions, Austin settled back into his seat, leaning closer to Ally. He pressed replay on the You Tube video. Glancing away from the road, Ally looked at the screen. Two similar looking blonde teenage girls popped up on the screen. In the background was the packed auditorium of Marino High School. One of the girls' voice broke the silence as she laughed at the other's silly actions of pretending to dump water on the heads of the boys seated in front of them, before making kissy faces at them. The cameraman told a joke, earning even more laughter from the blonde girls. Unsure of how the teenage nonsense on screen had anything to do with them, Ally turned her attention back to the road ahead. Suddenly, the video changed and she was surprised to hear her own voice. Glancing back to the device being firmly held in Austin's grip, she watched herself on stage from the performance from the other day. Even, she couldn't help but chuckle at Austin's comments, finding them endearing now, though she had found them so insulting then. Thinking back, Ally couldn't believe how miffed she'd been at his quirkiness; the exact same quirkiness that had caused her to originally fall in love with him so many years ago. Then suddenly the camera was back on the teenagers and their actions. Suddenly, the camera jumped back to the stage revealing two teenagers doing a hilarious reinterpretation of the balcony scene of Shakespeare's _Romeo and Juliet. _Having made the famous scene their own by using modern dialogue and witty humor, they caused the audience to laugh out loud. Even Ally had to chuckle a little bit as she watched it. Meanwhile she remembered the time that she, Austin, Dez, and Trish had to read Romeo and Juliet in their English class. Poor Trish was called on to play the part of Juliet one day as Dez had been asked to play the part of Romeo. The most famously, tragic love story was reinvented that day to a comedy. Then suddenly, the camera was back on her and Austin, capturing their entire performance of "You Can Come to Me." Then the kiss came. Blushing, Ally turned her focus back to the road. While the lip action was nowhere near to being porno as Trish described it, she had to admit that they probably shouldn't have kissed on that stage. Risking a quick glance back to the device, she could even see the red hue of her cheeks as she and Austin touched foreheads.

Once the video ended, Austin handed the ipad back to Trish.

"It's amazing some of the stuff that pops up when you type Austin and Ally into a search engine," Dez commented, his uncontrollable laughter turning into a contented sigh.

**xXx**

The airport was full of eager travelers and lamenting family members who had to stay behind. Even as he heard his flight being called, Austin refused to let go of Ally. Burying his face into her neck, he whispered soothing words to hers. Nearby they heard the laughter of Trish and Dez. And although Austin and Ally both wondered what the two were laughing at, they refused to pull away, relishing the moment.

"I love you," Ally whispered to him as she clung to him for dear life as if he would disappear forever if she let him go.

"I love you more," Austin replied just as quietly, causing Ally to smile despite her tears.

Finally the time came when they had to pull away less Austin and Dez missed their flight. With a quick, but passionate kiss goodbye they were separated as Austin and Dez disappeared into the sea of travelers. Even though she could no longer see them, Ally continued to wave goodbye to them. Cupping her hands to her mouth, Trish called after them.

"Don't you dare leave him in Europe, Austin Moon!"

Rather confused, Ally slung her arm around her friend's shoulder as they left the airport. "Ever since his tour was booked, you've been begging Austin to leave Dez in Europe," Ally commented. "Now you're telling him not to?"

Trish shrugged. "What can I say? It would suck finding a new punching bag."

**xXx**

"I'd love to hang out with you since Austin's gone," Trish said to a slightly depressed Ally, "but I have to go get fired my job." Then, without so much as a see you later, the Latina was gone, sauntering through the mall trying to make herself even more late for her job.

Rolling her eyes at her friend's behavior, Ally let out a heavy sigh. Austin was gone. Now that they had made up and things had gotten hot between them, how was she supposed to live without him? Chastising herself for thinking like a little girl with a crush, Ally reminded herself that she was a grown woman. When you love someone, you love them even when you're apart, if you don't love them more. After all, absence does indeed make the heart grow fonder. Even though she missed Austin terribly, she would survive. She should stop thinking such vacuous thoughts and start focusing.

Closing her eyes, Ally took a deep breath, counting to five. Upon opening her eyes, she glanced down the silver watch on her wrist. She'd been standing there like that since Trish left five minutes ago? Reprimanding herself for getting lost in thought, she began walking the maze off mall until she reached Sonic Boom.

"Ally!"

Before she could make it to her destination, the young woman heard her name being called from behind. Like a surrounded player on the court, Ally pivoted so fast, her long hair whipped the side of her face as she inspected the crowd of people for a familiar face. Recognizing her mother-in-law, Mimi Moon, Ally waved in greeting. Striding over to the older woman, Ally dared not dawdle.

Mimi engulfed her tiny frame into a hug. "I'm so glad I got to see you before you leave on tour!" she exclaimed. Her smile beaming, Ally agreed. She had always loved spending time with Austin's parents who though quirky, were genuine people who supported their son's career whole heartedly. Actually, she was pretty positive that they were the administrators of the official Austin and Ally fan site. "What do you say we grab an early lunch?"

Deciding that she could visit her dad later, Ally looked delighted as she nodded in agreement to Mimi's suggestion. Wandering to the food court, meaningless small talk dominated their conversation, refusing to let anything meaningful penetrate their current conversation. In fact their conversation didn't leave such topics such as the weather or Austin until they had sat down at a small table in the middle of the food court.

Only then did the conversation shift from Austin to Austin and Ally.

Dunking a few French fries in ketchup, Ally listened only half-heartedly as Mimi recalled a recent conversation she had with an elderly woman inside Moon's Mattress Kingdom. Only did her interest become piqued when she heard her name mentioned. Only, she realized that Mimi was talking about her and Austin.

"…and I then I went out and bought that magazine myself to read the article…."

She must have been talking about the _Cheetah Beat _article about her and Austin.

"…just the picture of the two of you on the cover was enough to make me cry…"

Oh yes, the obviously photo shopped image of her and Austin on the cover of that issue was a nice touch. She'd almost forgotten about that.

"…and then I actually read the article…."

Ally prayed that her mother-in-law would not start crying.

"…and shouldn't they get their facts straight before publishing something like that?"

Wait, what?

"Celebrity marriages, they never last. Do they?"

Not expecting that last statement to come from her mother-in-law, Ally felt her last gulp of water travel down her trachea instead of her esophagus, causing her to start coughing as she choked. Taking slow sips from her bottled water so she could breathe properly, Ally asked, "What?"

Mimi reached over, gently patting Ally's hand. "I didn't mean you and Austin, dear."

Ally nodded, unable to concentrate on the extremely long list of failed celebrity marriages that Mimi was rattling off as thought about her and Austin. Although they had made up before he had left on tour, Ally still feared for her marriage. After all, things had been strained between them for a while. That fight was just the final crack that sent the already crumbling foundation to the ground. Not wanting to worry Mimi, Ally decided not to voice her fears, especially since Austin had obviously not told his parents about their issues. And so she only nodded in agreement with a weak smile, hoping that Mimi would not notice that she was keeping something hidden.

Mimi had said so herself. Celebrity marriages never last. All of the statistics were there for anybody to see. Austin had even admitted to the reporters that their marriage sucked. It wasn't as easy as it was a few years ago, that was for sure. With their booming careers, they didn't have that Austin and Ally alone time they had always made an effort to have even back when they were just friends. They didn't have time, so they didn't even try to make the time anymore. But, after the time her and Austin just shared, she liked to think that their marriage wasn't completely unsalvageable.

With her heart racing uncontrollably, Ally immediately pulled out her cellphone as soon as lunch was over. As Mimi went to continue her shopping, Ally booked it over to Sonic Boom. With her phone to her ear, she anxiously drummed a rhythm out on her leg with her fingertips as she waited for Austin to answer. When Austin's cheery voicemail greeting kicked in, Ally felt her breathing unnaturally speed up.

"Austin!" she exclaimed his name louder than necessary when the beep sounded so she could leave a message. Although she didn't know what she wanted to say, or what she was trying to say, Ally knew she needed some comfort from the troubling thoughts that have taken up residence in her mind. Her voice grew quieter. "Uh, please call me back, okay? I just really need to hear your voice right now."


	5. Not Austin

Sonic Boom was uncharacteristically busy when Ally arrived early that afternoon to visit with her father. Her father, Lester Dawson, and the owner of Sonic Boom, was showing a small cluster of teenagers the display of guitars when she walked in. Waving to her father in greeting, the young woman sauntered over to the counter to wait for him to finish with his customers.

"Hi Dad," she said, mindlessly drumming her fingers on the countertop, looking at the clutter of papers lying on the counter.

Content that the customers were fine to look at the vast array of guitars without breaking anything, Lester walked over to his grown daughter with wide open arms. Capturing her small frame in a big hug, the man could not help but think back to the time when Ally was his little girl and not a grown woman and someone's wife. After his divorce when Ally was a little girl, he had to not only been her father, but a mother as well when Penny had left the country for her seemingly ending research. Ally was all he had and he swore to protect her from all the hurt in the world. But now, she was all grown up and no longer a little girl for him to protect. She was Austin's wife. It was now his job to care for her. But when the husband failed, the duty fell back onto that of the father. So, the hug lasted much longer than it should have. But as a concerned father, Lester had to know that his little girl wasn't being hurt by her husband.

"Your mom told me about your fight with Austin," he admitted into the hug. Immediately, he felt her body stiffen against his body as she remained in his tight embrace. She tried to pull away. And although he let her pull out of the hug, he refused to let go of her. With his hands on her small, slim shoulders, he held her at arm's length and he watched her smile disappear. "Are you okay, Honey?" he asked her.

Wanting to hide her current emotions from her father, Ally nodded her head to his question, all the while; bringing a hand up to her eye to make sure no stray tears began to fall. Glad to know that she was not crying, she shrugged out of her father's grip. Looking down at her ballet flats, she nodded again, fidgeting with the pleats of her skirt.

"I'm good," she managed to choke out. Unfortunately, Ally knew that the tremble in her voice gave away her false sense of security. But, Lester didn't seem to notice as he turned his back to her to ring up a customer's purchase. Ally had never been a good liar, so she wondered why she continued to try. Sighing, she realized she knew the answer. She kept trying to lie because she didn't want people to worry about her. It was just who she was. She was the kind of person who wanted to take care of everybody else and therefore didn't think that others should have to care for her. Right now, she was fairly confident that things were good between her and Austin. However, she wasn't so sure if things would continue to be okay between her and Austin. Ever since she had that conversation with her mother-in-law, this sickening feeling had been growing in the pit of her stomach. After all, one song and one kiss couldn't always fix everything, right?

Once he was finished with the customer, Lester went back to stand next to Ally. Placing a chaste kiss to her forehead like he did so many times while she was still a child, he said, "That's good." Again, his hands fell to her shoulders. Groaning, Ally knew what was coming next. "There's a mall association meeting and-"

"Go," Ally sighed, motioning to the door. "Go. I'll watch the store."

"Thanks Honey!"

Although a few years ago, she had officially stopped working for her father, Ally knew the man was still too much of a cheapskate to hire someone else. Though as she watched her father rush out the door without so much as a goodbye, Ally was grateful for the distraction that minding the store would give her. It would keep her mind off of Austin for time being.

**xXx**

Austin smiled at the sights, sounds, and smells of the international airport in Washington D.C. when he and Dez stepped off the airplane. They were all incredible, exciting his senses. At the least the smells were not vomit inducing as they had been on the small aircraft that had flown them from Miami. Being surrounded by smoke scented adults, farting kids, and the occasional air sick grandpa for a couple of hours, had made the rock star grateful to land. Things didn't help that the old grandpa that had been seated ahead of them had gotten air sick and threw up in the middle of the aisle and not the vomit bag that was easily accessible to him. So, wiping his feet on the nearest doormat, Austin made sure he did not have any of the old man's vomit on his colorful sneakers.

"I can't believe we're on our way to Europe!" He exclaimed, readjusting the carryon bag slung over his right shoulder.

"It's gonna be awesome, Buddy," Dez replied, patting Austin's back as they wandered around, trying to find their terminal.

Austin did agree with Dez. This was going to be an awesome adventure for the two of them. Never before had his career taken him outside of the United States. He only wished that the missing members of Team Austin could be present to experience it with them. After all, they were a team. They were supposed to do everything together. Sighing, he knew it was impossible to have the other two members join them. Ally, although his songwriter, had her own singing career to manage and maintain. Trish decided to go on tour with best friend. And although Dez was good company and great fun to be around, he wasn't Ally. Ally was an instant cure for any sense of sadness or loneliness to him. And Trish? Well, he would miss her threatening bodily harm on Dez, but never actually hurting him.

Wanting to hear Ally's voice, Austin pulled his phone out. Seeing that he had a missed call from his beautiful wife, he pressed the cellular device to his ear to listen to his voicemail. Hearing the message that Ally had left him, he stopped dead in his tracks. She sounded scared in her message. Was everything okay? Was she okay?

Aware that Austin was no longer beside him, Dez stopped and turned around. There in the middle of the crowd, Austin stood stock still wit his phone pressed to his ear. His expression worried Dez. Walking back over to his best friend, Dez placed a comforting hand to his shoulder.

"Are you okay?"

"Ally."

It was all that Austin could say, but Dez understood. Austin was concerned about Ally, as he should be.

"Give her a call," Dez said. "She probably just misses you."

Nodding in agreement, Austin pressed his speed dial to call Ally back. If he had his way, he'd be hopping on the next available flight to Miami and not England, but he knew that Dez was probably right. Ally probably just missed him. There wasn't anything uncommon with that. After all, he missed her like crazy. Hearing the comforting sound of ringing from the other end, Austin sighed. Soon, he would hear Ally's voice and know that everything was okay.

**xXx**

Although the minutes slowly leaked to hours as she worked at Sonic Boom, Ally was grateful that it kept her from thinking about Austin too much. Also the work, kept her mind off of the conversation she had had with Austin's mom earlier. Minding the store wasn't too much hard work. The hardest thing was restocking the displays, or setting up a new display. Or in Ally's case, hanging a banner advertising the current sales. It wouldn't have been so bad, if she was just a little bit taller. Ally didn't mind her short stature. It was just who she was. There were only two times she cursed being short; when she was grabbing something from the top shelf or hanging something up and kissing Austin. Standing on top of the stool she had gotten out to stand on, Ally found that she was still too short. Frustrated at her height inadequacy, she huffed, contemplating her next move. Jumping, Ally hoped she be the right height. She was. However, she was unable to make the banner stick to the wall on the first try. So, she jumped again. And again. Misguiding the diameter of her safe zone, Ally didn't land safely back on the stool. Instead, she felt herself falling and falling, and-

She didn't land in a heap of limbs on the hard floor as she first expected. Instead, a strong set of arms caught her, before gently placing her back on her feet. Feeling herself safely in the arms of another, Ally's first response was _Austin. _The thought of Austin catching her and cradling her brought a smile to her face as she closed her eyes. Austin always made her feel safe. But the person holding her now couldn't be Austin. Austin was on his way to England. Opening her eyes from the daydream, Ally turned to face her rescuer.

Nope, definitely not Austin. Austin was tall with a mop of blond hair and hazel eyes. This guy was considerably shorter than Austin. Actually, he wasn't much taller than Ally was herself. He was too short for her liking. She liked guys that were considerably taller than she was. Like Austin. The way his embrace engulfed her entire body, always made her feel safe and protected. His hair color was a dark blond, almost a light shade of brown and it was short. Too short. Ally had always been attracted to guys with hair on the longer side. Like Austin. Or even Dallas or Elliot. But especially Austin. His eyes were also the wrong shade. They were a bright green, resembling an emerald. Although he physically was not her type, her rescuer was attractive.

Recognition flashed through his eyes when he looked at her. "You're Ally Moon, aren't you?" He asked, his hands still planted firmly on her waist. Obviously, he hadn't noticed the diamonds on her left hand, claiming her as someone else's. Of course he hadn't. His bright green eyes, weren't leaving hers.

"Yeah," she confirmed with a smile and nod of her head. "I am. Are you a fan?"

The sales banner lay forgotten. Her father could always put up later.

Sheepishly, he shook his head. "Oh no, your music stinks. No offense." Frowning, Ally pulled out of his grip and walked back to the counter. Stepping behind it, she looked through the different sales receipts of the day, trying to keep busy. "I'm a huge fan of Austin Moon though." He looked around as if he was hoping Austin would magically appear. "Is he here?"

Rolling her eyes, Ally tried not to be offended by his remark about her music. "Actually, Austin is on his way to Europe right now."

"Oh."

Sorry, but no autographs for you today. If you aren't going to purchase anything, please leave and come back when you are going to make a purchase. Unfortunately, she could not tell him off. So instead, she opted for:

"Yeah."

Though the stranger did not seem to get her unspoken hint that she wanted him to leave. He insulted her music, did she have to play nice? Waltzing around, looking at all of the different displays, he made no indication of leaving anytime soon. Instead he talked some more.

"I'm actually not really much of a pop fan. I mostly listen to country, you know like Taylor Swift? But my cousin is a huge fan of yours and your brothers." She opened her mouth to correct him, but he kept talking. "But Austin Moon's music is actually pretty good."

Obviously he was not from around here, or he'd know that Austin was in fact her husband and not her brother. He also didn't read the rag magazines.

"You know, I write all of Austin's songs."

As if he was surprised by her confession, he looked back at her with a small smile. "Really? It's a known fact that you write your own music, but Austin's too?" She nodded. As he walked back to the counter, his small smile turned into a lopsided grin as if he was trying to be sexy. "Well then," he said, leaning against the counter so he was even closer to her. His voice was breathy. "Maybe I guess I'll just have to give your music another try then." He held his hand out for her to take. "Jason."

"Ally," she replied, shaking his outstretched hand. "But you already know that," she added quickly.

Now, Jason didn't seem to want to let go of her hand. He was cute. There was no denying that, but his forwardness with his attraction for her was making her rather uncomfortable. Hearing, her cell phone buzz, Ally pulled her hand away from his. Looking at the caller I.D, she smiled.

"I should take this."

It didn't take Jason long to leave after that.

**xXx**

"Hi Austin."

"Ally."

Upon hearing the smile in her voice as she said his name, Austin relaxed as a sense of relief washed over him. He also found himself at a loss for words. Therefore, he couldn't say anything more than her name as he was just grateful that she was alright. Remaining silent, he hope that she would speak first, initiating the conversation. He just wanted to bask in her presence right now, although many, many miles separated them. So, he looked over at Dez and smiled a cheesy, but a very sincere and happy grin.

However, hearing her sigh on the other end, caused him to worry. Something couldn't be right with such a heavy sigh, could it? Once again, her voice was timid and shy as she quietly asked, "We're okay, aren't we, Austin?"

Where did that question even come from? Of course they were okay. Why wouldn't they be okay?

"Yeah, Ally! We're okay."

He heard her sigh again, in relief maybe? He really couldn't tell. But she didn't continue. Instead, the line fell silent again.

Dez watched as his best friend talked on the phone to Ally. He found it quite amazing how one simple phone call could change Austin's entire visage. Although he couldn't hear the entire conversation, Dez knew that Austin was starting to relax. It was a good thing too, since they had just under a nine hour flight to London, England.

"I love you, Ally." Was the last thing Austin said before he hung up the phone.

"I'm hungry," Dez commented to his best friend. "Are you hungry?" Austin didn't have to answer Dez's question, because his funny friend was already trifling through his backpack. "I know I got it-Ah! Here it is!" With a triumphant smile, he pulled out a ham.

**xXx**

Sighing, Ally laid her cell phone back down on the counter and glared at it. She hated what it represented. It represented the intolerable distance between her and Austin, and right now distance was the last thing they needed. What they needed was to sit down and talk about where their relationship was headed and stop pretending that a song a kiss could solve all of their problems. It might have been the death of one horrible fight, but Austin had said so himself: Their marriage sucked. And as much as Ally hated to admit it, Austin was right. Their marriage did suck. The love and happiness that had once made up their marriage had been replaced by frustration and scorn. Yet, Austin was under the false pretense that everything was okay, that everything would be okay. But Ally knew better.

See, Austin had misunderstood what she asked him when she asked, _we're okay, aren't we, Austin? _He thought she was asking: _After that fight, we're still good, right? _Instead, she was asking: _Is our marriage in trouble? _She hadn't of had the heart to correct him.

Mimi was right when she said that celebrity marriages never lasted, yet Ally constantly found herself praying to a God that she wasn't even sure existed that her mother-in-law was right about her and Austin.

"Dear God," she whispered. "If you're there or if you're even listening, please let me and Austin be okay. I don't think I could live if our marriage failed."

Before she could continue or say anything, the front doors of Sonic Boom busted open. Afraid that whoever it was would accuse her of talking to herself, Ally clamped her mouth tight shut. Trish, decked out in her normal animal print fashion, skipped through the doors. Standing directly in front of the counter, that Ally was leaning against, Trish placed her arms up in the air in her usual announcement style.

"Guess who quit her job at-"

She never got to finish that sentence because a shocked Ally walked around the counter. "Wait?" Ally asked. "You quit? What happened to getting fired?"

Sighing, Trish shrugged. "You know how I told you I worked at 11 today?" Ally nodded. "Well, apparently I didn't have to work until 1 today." Hearing her friend's latest mix up, Ally laughed. "Man, I was wondering why my boss was so happy today."

Hugging her best friend, Ally couldn't help but think that even if her marriage did fall apart, she would still have her loud and obnoxious best friend with her hilarious mix ups and questionable work ethic to lean on.


	6. Flashbacks

Squeezing the old teddy bear tighter to her chest, Ally rolled over in the bed. Blinking her eyes open, she was met by Austin's empty, unwrinkled side of the bed. Sighing in frustration, Ally slammed the bear down on the bed before sitting up. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she mentally prepared herself to get up to face the day.

"I guess I'll just have to get used to waking up alone," Ally muttered to the stuffed bear staring back at her.

"Are you talking to yourself?"

Surprised to hear another voice in the room, Ally jumped, grabbing her chest. Breathing slowly to calm herself down, Ally found that her brown eyes were met by Trish's. "You scared me," she commented, throwing the covers off of her legs. Maneuvering out of the bed, Ally slipped her feet into her fuzzy slippers before pulling the sheets taut over the mattress. With the bed fully made and the pillows fluffed, Ally wandered over to the bathroom. "How'd you even get in here?"

Shrugging, Trish ignored Ally's question as she looked around her best friend's bedroom. However, Trish found that she was unable to focus on anything else but the teddy bear propped up against the pillows on the bed. Instead, she replied with, "Why are you sleeping with a teddy bear?"

Ally should have known her friend would ask about the damn bear. It was a stupid idea anyway. She just missed Austin's presence and thought her old childhood teddy bear would help her sleep. Pulling her hair back into a ponytail, Ally rubbed her face wash over her cheeks, spreading the soap to cover her entire face. Rinsing her hands off, Ally stepped back into the bedroom.

"His name is Snugglepuss," Ally replied, wandering over to her dresser full of clothes to pull out her clothes for the day. "I've had him since I was little. He helped me get to sleep as a kid, so I thought he could help me sleep now." Satisfied with her choice of outfit, Ally stepped back inside the bathroom to change while her friend waited for her.

"Dez still sleeps with stuffed animals."

Hearing Trish's confession about their other mutual friend, Ally shook her head. No, she decided, she did not want to know how Trish knew that bit of information.

**xXx**

Panting, grateful for the safe confines of the tour bus, Austin collapsed next to Dez after his concert. Kicking his sneakers off, Austin stretched his legs out over his best friend's lap so he could keep his feet up. Running a hand over the beads of sweat plastered on his face, he smoothed his hair back, which was also wet with sweat. "Some of these fan girls are even more rabid than the American girls!" Austin exclaimed, shuddering at the thought of getting groped by screaming teenage girls.

Dez pushed Austin's legs off of his lap before placing a comforting hand on Austin's shoulder to let him know that he understood the pain. He replied, "They're excited. It's your first time here and a majority of them want you in their beds."

Covering his hazel eyes with his hands, Austin screamed in frustration. "Can't they see I'm happily married?!"

"But are you happily married?"

Peering through his fingers to look at Dez, Austin sighed. Dez wasn't serious very often, but when he was, Austin knew it was better to just admit the truth. Like he did when he admitted that he liked Ally while he was dating Kira. When Dez was serious, he forced Austin to look at himself and think about his feelings. And while he hated talking about his feelings, Austin knew he had to get them all off his chest. So, he asked himself Dez's question, prying his heart and his brain for the answer. Was he as happily married as he said he was? While he knew that he still loved Ally and that she was the only woman he ever wanted to be with, a suddenly scary realization dawned on him.

"I don't think Ally and I've been happy in our relationship for a long time." Removing the shield away from his eyes, Austin could see Dez sitting before him, his right leg crossed over his left, with his hands folded, his posture just like that of a therapist in the middle of a session. Grateful that his best friend wasn't judgmental, Austin sighed. He had just realized that he wasn't happy in his marriage. If he's been unhappy, then he knew for a fact that Ally was unhappy in their marriage as well. "What am I going to do?" He whispered, his voice mimicking that of scared child asking for his mother.

"Now that you've admitted how you really feel," Dez said, "the first step is to communicate with your spouse. I suggest face to face, but in your case being on opposite sides of the world-"

"I need to call Ally?"

"Exactly, Buddy," Dez smiled. "You need to call Ally and tell her everything you're feeling. Let the caged bird free." With that analogy, Dez lifted his hands together so they looked like a bird in flight.

Feeling drowsiness kick in, Austin pulled himself to his feet, wandering to the bunks. "Right. I'll call her in the morning." Then he disappeared, leaving Dez alone in the front of the bus.

**xXx**

Though she had hated the way his hands had lingered on her waist, she had loved the thrill feeling that being caught safely in his arms gave her. It felt just as good as being in Austin's arms did. While that Jason character had insulted her music, his forward nature was not completely met with contempt. Was she really just comparing another man's touch to that of her husband's? All she was doing was thinking and she felt like she was cheating on Austin. She was Austin's wife. Austin was her husband. Therefore, she should not be thinking about another man. Yet, he refused to leave her head. It was almost like he had taken up permanent residence there.

Trish knew that something was on Ally's mind. It took less than two seconds to eat anything from Mini's, but Ally was prolonging her meal, absentmindedly fiddling with her engagement and wedding rings. Playing with her rings told Trish that Ally was thinking about Austin, but the thoughts were making her nervous. At least the brunette had found something else to do while nervous instead of chewing on her hair, a habit that she had long since broken.

"Alright, what is it?" Trish asked with a roll of her eyes. Conversation had always flowed between them as easily as the Nile flowed northward. Lunch dates or any other get togethers they had were never this quiet.

Snapping her head up to look at her best friend, her fingers stopped twirling the rings on her left ring finger. "What?" Ally asked confused.

"Something's obviously up, so what is it?"

How did one take the messed up, jumbled thoughts in their head to make a coherent sentence? Especially when the thoughts were about a man other than their husband. The rings started moving again as Ally sighed. "I met this guy," she said in a rush.

Ally's confession immediately gotten Trish's full attention. There had never been any doubt that the Latina loved gossip and the juicier the details the better. Forgetting about the rest of the food on her own plate, Trish pushed it aside, leaning closer to Ally. "What?!"

"I met this guy," Ally winced as she repeated herself. Every time she said it out loud, it sounded worse and worse. If she felt this bad just thinking about the guy, she'd hate to imagine the shame she'd feel if she actually acted and cheated on Austin.

"Well, is he cute?" Trish asked.

Remembering his dark blond almost brown hair and his bright green eyes, Ally smiled. "Yeah," she nodded. "He is cute."

Trish's eyes grew wide at Ally's confession. It was as if Ally was already thinking about what life would be like if her marriage to Austin didn't work out. Ally could think about other guys all she wanted to, but Trish could not let Austin and Ally get divorced. If they did, she'd have two miserable friends to deal with. And if that drama didn't land her in one of Dez's stupid therapy sessions, then she didn't know what would. She already hated Dez and if she had to sit down in front of him, look at his God damn ugly striped pants, and talk about her feelings, she was pretty confident that she would have to kill herself. And she was way to in love with herself to do that.

"Well then," Trish said. "You have two choices; divorce Austin or –"

"I don't want to divorce Austin!" Ally exclaimed.

"Or you can cheat on him."

One would think that Trish would be abhorred at the thought of cheating, especially since the first boy she had been crazy about had cheated on her. But, it was a well-known fact that Trish's moral compass didn't always point du north. Frowning, Ally pointedly looked at her friend. If words had been spoken, Ally probably would have cussed.

"Keep in mind if you do cheat on him, make sure that 1. You don't get pregnant. 2. The affair is over before Austin gets home. And 3. You don't tell anyone about it."

"I'm not going to cheat on Austin!"

Shoving another miniature pizza into her mouth, Trish shrugged. "Then give me his number and I'll date him."

**xXx**

Austin couldn't get to sleep that night. Even after taking more sleeping pills than he probably should have and counting way too many damn sheep, he had spent the night tossing and turning. Unable to get even get a minute's rest. Ally's pretty face kept flashing in his mind along with Dez's words, causing him to stay wide awake.

"_But are you happily married?"_

That was the problem. He wasn't happily married, but he desired to be. At one time, he and Ally had been completely happy in their relationship. As a teenager the easiest thing he did was become her friend. Even loving her was just as easy.

"_I want you back."_

"_So, I guess that makes you my ex, ex."_

He wanted to go back to the days when they were so crazily in love, just wanting to be with each other.

"_I want you to be my wife!"_

"_Why are you proposing?"_

"_Because, I love you."_

Now, it felt that those days were long gone and he wanted to get them back. Only, he didn't know how.

"_What am I going to do?"_

"_Let the caged bird free."_

His mother had told him when he and Ally announced their engagement to their families that getting married was the hardest thing that he would ever do in his life. No, marrying the love of his life at the age of eighteen was probably the easiest thing he'd done. Talking about his feelings and saying them so that they actually made sense to another human being was the hardest thing he'd ever done and would do.

"_No matter what you do, I'm gonna steal your heart."_

That line of lyrics was the closest he ever came to telling Ally that he loved her, without saying it. Putting emotions into words had never been his strong point though. That was more Ally's thing. That _Cheetah Beat _article was a good example of that.

"_I still love Austin. We are timeless."_

"_Our marriage sucks."_

Sucky marriage or not, Austin wanted Ally to be happy, like the way they were when they were just starting out in their life together.

"_July 23__rd__."_

"_I thought something else would happen that day."_

"_Like what?"_

"_I just thought I'd marry the greatest girl on earth that day."_

That was biggest and the happiest smile that Ally had ever given him. It didn't just light up her face, stretching from ear to ear. It didn't just reach her eyes either. It shone all the way to the depths of her soul. No smile had ever come close to that one. Except maybe when they finally announced their engagement to their friends and family.

"_I've made a decision on college though."_

"_Really? You did?"_

"_And I've decided that I'm not going. I'm going to marry Austin instead."_

Their marriage hadn't always been bad, sucking the happiness out of their relationship. Actually, there had been a lot of happiness in their marriage at one point. Then, they never dreamed that they would ever be unhappy in their marriage.

"_Austin, what is this?"_

"_Well, Ally I still don't know your middle name Moon, this is the beginning of our homeymoon."_

"_Our what?"_

"_Homeymoon. Our honeymoon at home."_

There had been plenty of love and laughs in their relationship and there should be a lot more. They were only twenty five. He wanted to experience much more of life with her. Seven years of marriage might seem like a long time, but it wasn't long enough. Besides, there were so many things that they hadn't experienced together yet. Like they hadn't experienced the frustration of arguing names or the joy of holding their newborn baby. More than once, he had prayed, hoping that they would have a child. Of course, if their marriage failed, he may one day get to experience that with someone else, but there was only woman that he wanted to be the mother of his nonexistent unborn children. And that woman was Ally. No, there was no way that he could lose Ally. Even if it was the hardest thing he did, he would tell her all of his feelings, praying that they could save their marriage from the pits of hell.

**xXx**

Trish had told her that there was a full house tonight. Just the thought of performing in front of thousands literally made her stomach twist into knots from the nerves of anxiously awaiting the start while sending hundreds of little butterflies in her stomach into flight, anticipating the performance. She only wished that Austin was there to squeeze her hand until she felt her fingers go numb. It was like she was never scared with him around. However, Austin was not here, forcing herself to give herself her own pathetic pep talk.

It was as if just thinking about Austin summoned his call. Anxiously grabbing her phone, Ally looked at the caller I.D and saw Austin's name and his gorgeous face flash across the screen. Sighing, she accepted the call, placing the cellular device to her ear.

"Hi Austin," she smiled into the phone.

"Listen Ally," she heard him say after a long sigh and she knew that whatever was coming was indeed serious. "We ne-" 

Even though she knew that he couldn't see her shaking her head, she continued the motion. "Austin, can we talk later? I'm just about to go on stage." After hearing the devastation in his voice, Ally almost regretted cutting him off. "Please? I call you after my concert."

"This is important, Ally."

"So is my concert, okay," she snapped, sounding fiercer than she meant to. Sighing, she removed the edge from her voice. "I promise I'll call you as soon as I get off stage. Okay?"

"Okay. Don't forget," Austin acquiesced. "I love you."

"I love you too, Austin."

Two seconds after ending her call with Austin, she was given her cue. Taking a deep breath, Ally handed her phone to Trish before smoothing out the front of her dress and giving her hair and makeup a final look over. Good enough. Pushing Austin and his phone call from her mind, Ally tried to calm her racing thoughts. However, Austin's call still haunted her. What was important that they needed to talk about? All smiles, Ally pretended that Austin had just called her to wish her good luck instead as she walked onto the stage, waving to her fans. Discreetly making sure the microphone on her headset was in place. As always, like at every concert, she had to give her best performance to date. Hearing her band play the first few beats of the first song, Ally took a deep breath, filling her lungs with air. Opening her mouth, she began to sing.

Like always, whenever she sang, she lost herself in the music, forcing the rest of the world to disappear. There was no Jason. There was no Austin. There was no pending phone calls, worrying her as she desperately tried to think of a reason for Austin's call. It was just her and her music. Closing her eyes, she allowed the melody to overtake her as her voice rose in a crescendo. It was then, that she suddenly truly felt as if she were alone with her music. Smiling, she imagined the perfect life in the perfect world. She wasn't worried about the seemingly important topic that Austin wanted to talk to her about. Austin wasn't on the opposite side of the world. She was not scared for her marriage. There had been no encounter with Jason. There were no other men residing in her mind.

But then, she had to open her eyes with reality whisking away her fantasy all too soon. With her fantasy world a million miles away, Ally scanned her eyes through the crowd, taking in the faces and expressions of each one of her Miami fans. Although she couldn't see them, or quite recognize them in the crowd, Ally knew both of her parents and her in-laws were in attendance tonight. She smiled, remembering the call from her father excitedly telling her about winning tickets to her concert. It had been all over the local radio station for weeks how they were giving away four free tickets to the Ally Moon concert as a prize. Shaking her family from her head, Ally's eyes continued their quest, scanning the rest of the audience. Suddenly they stopped on a familiar pair of bright green eyes in the second row with a clear view of center stage. Opening wider in shock, she recognized Jason. Though he promised that he would give her music another chance, Ally had assumed he'd listen to a cd or something. Not show up at her concert. He'd been living in her head for the past few days since their meeting and now he was hear, almost directly in front of her face. Maybe she should hook him up with Trish so that her mind could focus instead on Austin. And only Austin.

**xXx**

Absentmindedly tuning his guitar, Austin waited for Ally to call him back. Sighing, he risked another disappointing glance at his phone. Nothing. His brain registering the time, Austin realized that four hours had passed since he talked to Ally. There was no way that her concert had lasted this long. Shrugging his shoulders, he slowly began to strum away at the strings. Faintly, _I Think about You _resonated throughout the tour bus as Austin ignored the renegade tear cascading down his cheek.

**Author's Note: Hello fellow fan fiction readers and writers! If you haven't noticed, this is my first author's note for this story and this one only exists because I need to explain something. There are many quotes in italics in this chapter. Some you will recognize from earlier in this story. The others are taken from my other fics **_**Ex Exes, Daters and Decisions, Frank and Fiancés, Weddings and Wives, and Homes and Honeymoons. Ex Exes and Daters and Decisions are both posted on this site. Frank and Fiancés, Weddings and Wives, and Homes and Honeymoons are not, but will be shortly after this story is completed. **_


	7. Voice Mails

"This is Ally; leave a message at the beep!"

The hours he spent waiting for her call stretched into days, and those days slowly turned into weeks. It's been a month since he last seen Ally and it felt like it's been even longer since he last talked to her. Every time he tried calling her, he was greeted by the chipper voice of her message. Groaning in frustration, the phone left his grasp in an attempt to fly as he threw the phone. He could understand that Ally had forgotten to call him back that night. He could understand that she couldn't always answer her phone when he called. He just didn't understand why after he left countless voice mail after voice mail, she didn't call him back. It was almost like she was refusing to call him back. Playing constant rounds of phone tag was ridiculous, but this was even more so. What evil force possessed her to keep her from calling him?

"_I just really need to hear your voice right now."_

Whatever happened to that? Ally had sounded so scared, yet it made Austin smile with pride that just hearing the sound of his voice would make her feel better. Now, it seemed like she didn't need him. Like he had nothing to do with where she was today. The day of their performance at their alma mater, Ally had been absolutely adamant that he had nothing to do with the success of her career. However, he knew for a fact that he was every bit the reason that she had this career, just like she was every bit the reason for his career.

"_You can't have one without the other."_

Their former principle was right; you can't have one without the other. That's how closely integrated they were in each other's lives. Without Ally, Austin was just a regular Joe with a dream and a guitar. Without Austin, Ally was just like a shy little girl who had no way of making herself heard. That phrase was true, even back when they were teenagers and just friends and had no desire to date each other. Wherever Austin was, Ally was not far behind and wherever Ally was, Austin was always there too.

Now it felt like they were doing everything in their power to make it without the other. Like they were trying their best to ignore the very clear meanings of a few of their songs. It was as if they were a team of stubborn Clydesdale horses. Both knew where they were going and that they needed the other to get there, but they were pulling in opposite directions, getting absolutely nowhere.

Leaving his phone and his music, Austin left the tour bus in search of Dez who had left some time ago in search of sour gummy worms, a fedora, and a talking horse. At least his best friend would cheer him up with his crazy plans, taking over Austin's mind like a dictator trying to take over the world. Even if it helped him take his mind away from Ally for at least a few minutes, searching Dez out would be worth it.

**xXx**

No matter how many weeks had passed or how many cities and states she traveled to, Ally found that she could not shake Jason's presence. Though he hadn't just taken up residence in her mind. Now, he was physically there. Hence, the third wheel impeding on her shopping trip with Trish. It was as if he was stalking her tour bus, declaring his undying love for her. If it was Austin she'd be grinning like an idiot or a school girl talking to her crush. But it wasn't Austin and she wasn't acting like a shy little school girl over a crush. At least if it were Austin, he'd have his guitar and would be serenading her, singing every song that came to mind. She was talking politely to Jason while not so subtly trying to keep her wedding rings in his line of sight. However, he never seemed to notice the diamonds. Rolling her eyes, Ally reached across the table with her left hand to grab a napkin from the dispenser. The three of them were enjoying smoothies while sitting at an outside table at a little coffee house. If his gaze would travel to anyplace but her eyes, he would have noticed the diamonds glittering in the sun.

"You know, I'm really glad that I decided to give your music another try," he commented, taking a long slurp of the ice cold drink in his hand. "I've really gotten the chance to know you better. It's like your music just-"

There he goes on about her music again, releasing the jar of butterflies in her stomach. Yet anyone complimenting her music caused butterflies to fly and her heart to start fluttering its newly sprouted wings. All the same, Ally couldn't help but smile, a rose tint coloring her cheeks.

"This is amazing!" Trish exclaimed through slurps of her own smoothie, while seemingly glaring at Jason and eyeing Ally suspiciously all at once. "And here I was thinking that sex on the beach was just something you and Austin did to spice thi-"

Ally glared at her friend for even mentioning her sex life, all the while kicking the loud Latina in the shin. Just the thought of having sex on the beach caused her to blush fervidly. Never had she and Austin tried something like that, always sure to keep their private life private. But Ally knew that she couldn't be mad at Trish for making a comment like that. Especially since she was just looking out for her friend, rather rudely saying in code, _Uh hello, does the name Austin Moon ring any bells? _Not that Trish had anything to worry about. Jason would soon get over his little crush on her and move on to stalking someone else's tour bus. Like Taylor Swift's. Instead of another break up song, maybe she could change things up a little and write a song about how much she hates a creepy stalker.

However, Jason's brain didn't seem to register what Trish was implying. Smiling with much fervor, he animatedly talked with his hands with much energy. "I can't believe that there's a smoothie with the name _sex on the beach_!" He exclaimed, "I thought it was only an alcoholic drink."

Obviously he hadn't caught onto Trish's reference, making him as naïve as Dez.

Bored with the conversation, Ally pulled out her phone. Upon seeing another missed call from Austin, she frowned. Sighing in frustration, she bowed her head. How long had it been since she'd last talked to Austin? It's had to have been at least three weeks. He's called her several times within that time frame. Unfortunately, every time he's called, she didn't have time to talk. Then whenever she thought about calling him back, something else came up. Glancing up from her phone, Ally found that Trish and Jason were still deep in conversation about sex on the beach. Rolling her eyes, she quickly pressed the call button on her phone before placing the device to her ear. Relief washed over her like the rain over the land being encompassed in a drought when she heard it ringing on the other end.

"Earth to Ally."

Realizing that now was probably not the best time to call Austin back, she pulled the device away from her and hid it under the table. Pressing the end call button, she picked her head up to rejoin her friends. Trish was staring at her and Jason was looking at her as well. However, Ally couldn't tell by their facial expressions whether they were confused by her behavior or concerned.

"Are you okay?" Jason asked her, placing a hand on her arm.

His touch. It was so much like Austin's. At least it was so much like Austin's in the way that it made her feel. Jason's touch was smooth and perfect, unlike Austin's touch which was rough from calluses only one would have from years of playing guitar. Although the calluses made Austin's touch a little rough, Ally loved the feeling it sent through her body, like static. The roughness of his touch, also gave her sense of safety. Jason's touch wasn't rough, but it still made her feel loved.

She liked Jason, a lot. But she had no interest in pursuing anything past friendship with him. Even if her marriage to Austin failed, Ally didn't feel like she could. She may not be happy in her relationship with Austin, but she still loved him and knew that she always would.

"Yeah," she replied, pulling her arm out of Jason's grasp. "I'm fine." Wishing that they would leave her alone long enough to talk to Austin, but fine. "Just tired," she lied, hoping that Trish would suggest that Jason leave.

Trish always knew when her best friend was lying. While, Ally did not have a concert last night, she was able to get plenty of rest. Like, she would need for her concert tonight. More so knowing that that the musician wanted some space to clear her head and maybe to get a few messed up thoughts out of her head, the Latina nodded. Slurping the last of her smoothie noisily through the straw, she stretched her arms out behind her head.

"I'm a little tired too," she admitted, faking a yawn. "It was great seeing you again," Trish faked a pleasant smile as she said farewell to Jason so they could take their leave.

"We'll see you later," Ally said, pushing her chair back and standing up. Trish did the same.

Before they could make their getaway like a couple of criminals, Jason followed suit. Then, stepping ever closer to Ally, popping her bubble of safety, he wrapped his arms around her slim waist in a hug. Being nice and not wanting to cause a scene lest she refused, she returned the hug.

When Jason was out of sight and they were back in the safe confines of the tour bus, Ally groaned, falling into the nearest seat.

"He's kind of like your biggest fan," Trish commented, taking the seat next to Ally.

"I know," Ally groaned.

**xXx**

"You know," Austin said completely out of the blue as he and Dez were hanging out in the tour bus. The heartbroken rock star was lying on his stomach, playing with the lint and fuzz he found on the surface underneath him. Meanwhile, his best friend was sitting cross legged with a laptop balanced on his knees. Hearing Austin, speak, the red head picked his head up so he was looking at him. "Our anniversary is a little less than a month away."

"Seven years," Dez commented.

"Yeah," Austin confirmed. "Seven years. Seven years and I don't think it's going be much more than that."

Dez hated it when his best friend in the whole world, probably one of the few guys that really knew him, Austin Moon, became all seriously depressing, moping around. The rock star usually just needed some kind of boost to get his mojo back. However, he's been like this most of the tour so far. Not knowing how to make his friend feel better, Dez returned his focus back to the bright computer screen.

Seeing that Dez was no longer listening, Austin huffed as he pushed himself to his knees before sitting down like a normal person. Dez didn't need to tell him that he wasn't much fun to be around right now. Austin knew that. Ausamus the gladiator no longer existed. In his place was Austin Monica Moon, severely depressed because he was afraid for his marriage. Losing Ally, would just make everything worse.

Dez was practically living in another world as he played on the computer, ignoring his surroundings.

"What are you doing?" Austin asked, pulling the laptop over so he could see the screen as well. Peering over Dez's shoulder so that he could see the laptop's screen more clearly, Austin saw that the internet browser was open to a search engine; google to be exact. His brain finally registering what Dez had typed into the search bar, Austin looked to Dez for an answer. "You're googling Ally," he stated incredulously. "Why are you googling my wife?!"

Pushing Austin backwards so that he almost fell onto his back, Dez yanked the laptop away from Austin so that he could no longer see the screen. Swallowing hard, Dez tried to come up with an excuse as to why he would be googling Ally Moon. Unable to find a decent excuse, he coughed. "Not for writing Auslly fan fiction, that's for sure!" He made sure to keep his gaze away from Austin so Austin could not look at him and see how embarrassed he was for admitting that fact.

Frowning, Austin tried to wrap his brain around what Dez had just said in comprehension. "Aussie what?" He asked in confusion. However, his frown quickly turned into a smile as he thought about what he had just said. "That makes me sound like I'm from Australia!" He exclaimed rather excitedly as he began to try out many different sayings in an Australian accent. "Crikey!"

Frowning, Dez glared at Austin. "How dare you try to impersonate the crocodile hunter!" He gasped in absolute horror, pointing his nose to the air to pout.

"But I sound so cool!" Austin whined, dropping the accent. Picking the accent back up, Austin continued. "I sound like Maia Mitchell," he grinned. "Her accent is awesome." Dez ignored Austin, minimizing the webpage before setting the laptop next to him. Getting off the train of his rant and returning to his normal voice, Austin continued. "Aussie what?"

"Auslly fan fiction," Dez repeated excitedly. "You know, Austin and Ally?! There's a whole category about you guys on with over 6,000 story entries!"

People not only write stories about him and Ally, but read about them as well? Paparazzi and squealing teenage girls stalking his every move were creepy enough as it was. But supposed fans actually making up stories about them was even worse in his opinion. Shaking his head, Austin tried to get the creepy thoughts out of his head. "Wait," he said, eyeing his best friend. "You write about me and Ally?"

"Sure I do," Dez admitted with a proud smile. "You should check out my profile on and read some of my stories. My pen name is FreckledFriend81413."

Just knowing that people wrote made up and ridiculous stories about him and Ally was bad enough. No, there was no way that he would actually read some of them.


	8. Ally's Biggest Fan

_July 20__th__, 2020_

_**A New Star for Moon?**_

_Ally Moon has a new number one fan and let me be the first to tell you, it's not Austin. While her popular pop star husband, Austin Moon has been off serenading thousands of Europeans on his latest tour, Ally has been keeping company with another man. Sources revealed that this new man has been at every concert on her tour, sitting in the first or second row. Pictures revealed that he has been spending time with the pop princess away from concerts and security as well. _

_A reliable source close to Ally Moon told us, "[Ally] is flustered. She still loves Austin, but finds herself enjoying [his] company more and more. Perhaps more than she should." It sounds like Ally is torn between her rock star husband and this new man. _

_Ally had something completely different to say._

"_He's just someone I met," the rock star stated. "I won't see him anymore when Austin gets home."_

_Was this why that she was so adamant earlier that Austin was not having an affair, having something to hide herself? _

_But how serious is this new romance of Ally's?_

"_She blushes," sources revealed. "Austin has always been the only guy that could make her blush." _

_Things are really starting to heat up between Ally and this new man as you can see. While it is no secret that they've been spending quite a bit of time together, Ally doesn't seem fazed by the constant attention at all. It's like she strives to be in the spotlight as she doesn't cower away from the reporters and photographers asking her about her new love interest. _

_Our Cheetah Beat photographers with their keen eyes have noticed one small very important detail about Ally Moon. She hasn't been wearing her wedding rings lately. During her last interview with Cheetah Beat reporters, the star's left hand was uncharacteristically naked where her rings normally resided for the world to see. _

_With Austin still away on his European tour for another month, it will be interesting to see how this celebrity soap opera plays out. _

He was irate, feeling his nostrils expand with air and then concave as he breathed. Furious, he dropped the laptop beside him, not wanting to read any more. Right now, he was so jealous, feeling the way a bull does about his cows, or the protectiveness a stallion might feel over his mares when another stallion came too close. Though, right now he was that stallion. Like wild horses fought to keep their herds, Austin had to fight to keep his wife.

"I told you that you didn't want to read that article," Dez said, picking the laptop up and getting it far out of Austin's reach so that the angry pop star didn't accidentally smash it in his rage.

Dez had been right. That was something that Austin didn't want to see. But, he was glad he did. He shot to his feet as quickly as the NASCAR cars sped forward when the flag waved on race day. His bicep muscles flexed as he violently balled his fingers into fists. Hoping to remain calm, he stretched his fingers out again, starting to pace the tiny room. Nothing helped though to release some of his tension. Balling his fingers into fists again, Austin let out a scream of frustration as his fist slammed into the wall. Not too soon after, did the tears start.

He cried for himself and his failed marriage. He knew that his marriage was over. There was no doubt about it. After that article, there was absolutely no hope for them. And while he wasn't sure what he would do once he got back to home to Miami or what would happen to his career without Ally in his life, writing his songs, he knew that somehow he had to survive. If he could no longer hold her, holding onto his career that she helped jumpstart would have to suffice.

He cried for his friends and the end of Team Austin and Ally. With him and Ally no longer working together, Dez and Trish would be forced to take sides. God, he wished that they didn't have to get involved, but Dez and Trish were just as much Ally's friends as they were his. It wasn't right that they had to suffer because of him and Ally.

Finally, he cried for Ally and why she felt she needed the affections of another man. Lately, he hadn't been the kind of husband he promised he'd be all those years ago. If he had been, maybe she wouldn't be seeking this new man's love.

Although he knew his friend could still see him cry, Austin placed his forearm on the wall to hide his face and the tears.

"You know you can't believe everything you read online," Dez said, hoping to make his friend feel better. "She's probably just friends with that guy."

Hearing what Dez had said, Austin unburied his face and just stared at the fall in front of him. How he hoped that was the case although he had a sickening feeling that it wasn't. Taking a deep breath, Austin closed his eyes, hoping to release his tension and calm down long enough to stop crying. When his eyes flickered opened again, the hazel orbs were drawn to the gold band on his finger. His wedding ring.

Suddenly, his mind started racing back to the article before he could stop it. "Her rings," he quietly said, fresh tears streaming down his face. "She's not wearing her wedding ring." He cried.

**xXx**

Oh my God, Ally couldn't help but think as felt the smoothness of her finger, the diamonds of her rings not scratching her skin. Looking down at her left hand, her suspicions were easily confirmed. She was not wearing her wedding rings. Oh God, she breathed. Where were they? She had never taken them off before, not wanting them to get lost!

Her life right now felt like it belonged in an episode of _I Love Lucy. _

Only in ridiculous, not very believable television shows did a woman lose her wedding ring.

Taking a deep breath, Ally calmed herself down by counting backwards from five in her head as she thought back to life's previous events. Although her memory was still a bit hazy from the bright flashing lights of cameras and stage lights, it all came back to her. Dissecting her memory like a science student might dissect a frog, Ally realized she only had one thing to blame.

Trish De La Rosa.

But, she couldn't blame everything on Trish could she? After all, it had been her fault that she and the Latina had even gotten into a stupid little disagreement. She knew better than to edge the girl on. Shaking her head, Ally sighed at the sheer stupidity of it all.

"I bet you can't live without Austin," the Latina had said.

Ally remembered she had scoffed in response before replying: "I've been living without him ever since he left on tour."

Trish had shrugged. "Then prove it. Take off your rings. I bet you can't go twenty four hours without wearing them without freaking out."

She had gone twenty fours without wearing her rings and she was only freaking out now as she remembered the interview she'd given to _Cheetah Beat _reporters after her concert last night. She had completely forgotten to ask for her rings back before the concert. If the reporters had a caught of glimpse of her bare finger, she was doomed.

"Guess who made the cover of _Cheetah Beat_?"

Sighing in relief to hear Trish's voice, Ally rushed over to her posing friend. "Give me my rings back," she demanded instantly. _Cheetah Beat _could wait.

Rolling her eyes, Trish dug through her pants pockets for the objects in question. First, she pulled out a piece of lint and some loose change. Next, she pulled out a half-eaten ring pop. Then, she pulled out a crumpled concert ticket. Finally, she pulled out Ally's diamond rings.

Her pocket was like Dez's backpack or Mary Poppins' carpet bag.

If that wasn't proof that she's been spending way too much time with Dez, she didn't know what was. Trish shuddered at the thought, handing the angry brunette her rings back. Watching, Ally slide first her engagement ring over her knuckles and then the wedding band, Trish rolled her eyes again. It was just jewelry, she thought, easily bought and easily replaced.

Ally knew that she probably looked and sounded ridiculous as she demanded her rings like a kidnapper might demand a ransom. But she didn't care as she stroked the roughness of the rocks along her cheek. She like Jason, a lot and more than she should. She knew that. But Jason wasn't Austin and he never would be. Austin was still the only man that she ever wanted to be with. She had felt absolutely terrible when she thought she had lost her rings. Although they were just jewelry, they symbolized that she was married to the man that had stolen her song and her heart so long ago. Without her rings, she had felt almost naked. While she could talk to Trish about a lot of things, how she felt without wearing her rings was not one of them. She would never understand.

"You made the cover!" Trish said, dramatically pushing the magazine directly into Ally's face.

Now it was Ally's turn to dramatically roll her eyes. Taking the magazine from Trish, Ally scanned her eyes over the picture on the cover. Oh no, she groaned as she was staring back at a picture of her and Jason hugging. From the angle the picture had been taken at, there was no mistaken that it was her. However, Jason's face was hidden playing on the story's mystery man idea. Horrified to know what the reporters could have written using imagination and twisted facts, Ally flipped the magazine open and to the marked pages of the article. Skimming through the article and glancing at the pictures, Ally cringed. Why was the press always so adamant on publishing stories about her when they didn't have all the correct information? Weren't they being paid to tell the facts and not use their creepily, drama filled, creative minds? If Austin saw this article…

Trish seemed to know exactly what she was thinking. "Oh don't worry," she shrugged. "I'm sure Austin hasn't seen the article."

Ally prayed that was so.


	9. I'm Done

"_I wouldn't sing in front of Owen if I were you," Ally declared, watching Austin quickly tuning his guitar. Nearby, the bird in question resided in his cage, watching the rock star rather intently. "You know he's an Austin Moon fan!"_

_Nineteen year old Austin ignored his wife of one year and her stupid pet bird and kept tuning his guitar. Glancing up from his task at hand, the young rock star looked around at his surroundings. Ally was eagerly sitting on the edge of the sofa, watching him, anticipating what would happen in the near future. He sat hunched in the recliner, fussing over his guitar. That darn bird was still eyeing him from his perch, reminding Austin that he and Ally were not at home in their apartment, but staying in her father's house. _

_That glorious two bedroom apartment they currently lived in had a no pet's policy, meaning that Ally had to leave that darn bird behind when they had gotten married. However, that blasted apartment had recently sprung a leak, forcing its inhabitants out for a few days. Normally, it wouldn't have been so bad, Austin reflected. Either of their parents would be glad to have their children back home for a few days as they waited for their apartment to get fixed. But when it happened over their one year anniversary, Austin found the circumstances less than stellar as he well, wanted to serenade and seduce his wife. At least her father was away at another convention, leaving Austin and Ally alone with that damn bird._

_Tomorrow was still their anniversary, stating that they had made it through one year of marriage and tonight, he was going to serenade her. Strumming a few chords, Austin was pleased that his guitar was fully tuned and ready to play. Standing up, he slipped the shoulder strap across his shoulder. Smiling down at the beautiful woman seated on the couch, he slowly began walking towards her, his voice mixing with that of the guitar's._

"_Last summer we met…We started as friends…."_

_Even though she had written that song about him, she blushed every time he sang it to her; him telling her exactly that he felt the exact same way that she did. Standing up to her full height, Ally smiled profusely, a red hue coloring her cheeks. When the song ended, Austin placed his guitar on the floor, before cupping Ally's cheeks and melding their lips together. Leaving the bird and the guitar behind in the living room as Austin led Ally up the stairs to her old bedroom. _

"_I think about you…"_

_Ally groaned for the hundredth time as she placed her pillow over her head, trying to cover her ears to drown out the sound. "Austin!" she groaned, rolling onto her stomach. Beside her, she could feel Austin roll onto his side so that he was facing her. _

"_I'm going to kill that damn bird," Austin cussed, hearing the chorus of the song for the millionth time that night._

"_You know that Owen repeats everything he hears!"_

_The day of their anniversary sucked in comparison of what she had planned out in her head. Of course, since her father was away, she had to work at Sonic Boom. Working wasn't so bad, especially since Austin was always there anyways to keep her company. _

_Pinching herself yet again to keep herself from falling asleep, Ally tried stifling another inevitable yawn. Her weight was being solely supported by the counter and thank God that it was unmovable, otherwise she'd be passed out on the floor, snoring. _

"_Hi Honey!" The familiar voice of her father greeted her as he stepped through the glass doors of Sonic Boom. _

"_Hi Dad," Ally replied, yawning._

_That's when Lester noticed the sight of his daughter and son-in-law. "Uh Honey," he asked a little concerned, seeing Austin fast asleep on top of the counter. "Why is Austin cuddling the phone?"_

_Turning around, Ally smiled at the goofy sight of Austin asleep, using the store's black phone as a pillow. "We were up all night," she revealed._

"_I don't want to hear that!" Lester exclaimed, plugging his ears, almost running to his office._

"_None of that actually happened," Ally replied, with a roll of her eyes. "Owen was singing "I Think about You" all night."_

Rolling onto her back, Ally refused to open her eyes, wanting to relish in the memory of their first anniversary a little bit longer. It was hard to believe that that had happened on this day only six years ago. Smiling from the memory, Ally couldn't help but remember how happy she and Austin had been. Until the present came rushing back just to remind her of her seemingly failing marriage, Ally had been content thinking about the past.

"Happy anniversary, Austin," she whispered into the darkness, even though she knew that Austin could not hear her or receive her message telepathically.

Opening her eyes, she stared up at the ceiling. Sighing, she crawled out of the tiny bunk. Mindful of Trish's loud snoring, Ally was careful to not make a peep as she left the bunk area of the bus. Entering the small kitchenette of the tour bus, she grabbed a muffin before sitting down on the nearest bench seat. That God awful _Cheetah Beat _magazine staring back at her, reminding her of her heinous actions.

Of course, she had never physically cheated on Austin. Mentally, maybe, but thinking wasn't a crime. Seeing herself staring back at her, Ally flipped the magazine over, so that she couldn't see herself tightly engulfed in Jason's loving embrace.

She knew exactly what she had to do and she was determined that she was going to do it.

Tiptoeing back to the bunk to grab her phone, Ally felt the bus lurch. No longer hearing Trish's snores, Ally feared that her companion may have woken up. However, the snoring continued as the Latina rolled over, going back to sleep instantly. Rolling her eyes, Ally grabbed her phone and left the room again. Trish didn't need to hear her conversations.

Opening up her phone's contact list, Austin's name was at the top as usual. Just staring at the name, Ally let time slowly inch on as she made no effort to press the call button. Closing her eyes, the young woman let inspiration flow through her as she tried to compose a message in her head. She knew what she had to say. She just didn't know how to say it. Deciding to just get it over with, she sighed, finally pressing call after just staring at his name for several minutes. Hearing Austin's phone ringing on the other end, Ally pressed the device to her ear, waiting for his familiar voice to speak to her.

"Hey this is Austin!" The familiar recorded voice message greeted her after a few minutes. "I'm rocking out right now, but if you leave a message I'll call you back. If I remember."

Hearing the beep signaling her to leave a message, Ally sighed, her recently composed message fleeing the coop like a chicken trying to get away from a barking dog. "Hi Austin, it's me. I don't know where you are or what time it is there, but I'm thinking about you today. In case you forgot, it's July 23rd or better known as our anniversary. Happy Anniversary Austin. That's all I wanted to say, I guess. We haven't talked in a while and I hope you're not too mad about that. Um, if you want you can call me back. I'd like to hear your voice. Bye."

That sounded completely lame compared to what she had composed in her head. All well, she said what she needed to say. Hopefully, Austin would receive it before too long and wouldn't hesitate to call her back.

That was completed. Now, she only had one more thing left to do.

**xXx**

"Oh Man, that was awesome!" Austin exclaimed as he and Dez tripped into the tour bus that night after a concert. Just thinking back to the lights, the screaming fans, and the special effects all made Austin want to run around with his arms spread out like the wings of an airplane, hugging everyone in sight. It was late, but he was too hyped up to go to bed yet.

"You know what would have made it better?" Dez asked taking a seat.

Austin stopped dancing around the tour bus and looked at his friend. "What are you talking about? Nothing could have made tonight better!"

Although he was blinking rapidly as if he had an eyelash in his eye or something, Dez was still staring into his soul. The look Dez was giving Austin was making the rock star a little uncomfortable. Crossing his right leg over his left knee, Dez folded his hands. "I'm talking about Ally."

Austin let out a deep sigh. Ally. Normally, Dez would be right. Ally's presence always just seemed to make everything so much brighter. But not now. Not anymore. That beautiful woman, his wife whom he still loved, was philandering across the United States with some other man. No, Ally's presence wouldn't have made tonight any better. In their current predicament, it probably would have only made it worse. If she no longer loved him and made a point of it by taking off her rings, then maybe it was time to end things before their relationship disintegrated even more than it already was.

"Today's our anniversary," he muttered as if he had just remembered the fact, taking a seat next to his friend.

But he hadn't just remembered. He knew. He always knew when his anniversary was. There was no way that Ally could ever compare him to those stupid men on TV that could never remember their anniversary or their wife's birthday. He knew those dates as well as he knew when his own birthday or Christmas was.

He should really call her even if he'd rather look down the barrel of a gun or wrestle an alligator at the moment. Even if things didn't last too much longer between them, she was still his wife. Austin mused as he looked at his wristwatch. There was a definite time difference. How did that work again? Her time zone was ahead of him, right? No. It was definitely behind. Shrugging, Austin decided not to figure out what time it was in the States. It was probably the middle of the night anyways, meaning that she would be even more upset to receive his call.

Dez had watched his best friend grow silent and morose as he continued to think about Ally. Deciding to leave Austin alone with his thoughts, Dez got up to move to their bunks to get ready for bed. Austin would probably stay up most of the night thinking about Ally, but it was after midnight and this avid fan fiction writer needed his sleep.

Upon entering the room, Dez's glance immediately fell upon Austin's phone nestled a top his suitcase. Usually, Austin never left without his phone in case Ally or his mother called him. Lately though, it was as if Austin was giving up on Ally, knowing that she wouldn't call him anyways. Shrugging, Dez picked up the device waking up the screen. When the screen lighted up, illuminating the darkened room, Dez registered that Austin had a missed call. From Ally. Not only that, but a voicemail.

"You got a message from Ally!" he shouted back to his friend.

"What's it say?!" Austin asked, trying not to sound too eager to know what Ally had said. However, his tone gave away his curiosity and excitement.

Shrugging, Dez called Austin's voicemail, mindlessly thumbing in Austin's password. The four number password was easy for Dez to remember. It was the same as the date when Ally agreed to be his music partner ten years ago. Placing the phone back to his ear, Dez listened intently to what the automated voice was saying to him. Wincing, then gasping, Dez dropped the phone and slowly wandered back to Austin.

Sheepishly, Dez hoped that Austin wouldn't get mad at what he had to say and punch the wall again. "I uh, kind of, accidentally deleted the message before I listened to it."

Hearing Dez's confession, Austin groaned. He would call Ally back in the morning. He had to.

**xXx**

Ally checked her appearance in the mirror one more time. Walking back to the bunks, Ally grabbed her phone and her purse, before checking on a still sleeping Trish. Rolling her eyes, Ally made her way through the tour bus. Opening the door, Ally smiled as she breathed in the fresh air. Stepping off the tour bus, Ally looked at the last text message she had received. The address given in the text was not far from her bus's current rest stop and so she opted to walk the short distance grateful for the chance to clear her head of its racing thoughts.

There he was, just like he said he'd be, sitting on a little park bench overlooking a small waterfall tumbling over the face of the rocks in the little city park. Taking a deep breath, Ally checked the time once again. However, she wasn't early to meet him. She was right on time. Realizing that she had nothing to keep her stalling for time, Ally took another deep breath. In a few short strides, she was at the bench.

"Hi," she said, taking a seat next to the person already there.

_Forcefully, she yanked him over to a bench so they could sit down. _

"_What?" Austin asked, a smirk playing across his lips. "You wanna make out?"_

_Appalled at the suggestion, Ally playfully slapped his shoulder. She and Austin had to talk about how they wanted to tell everyone. It was killing Ally to keep it all a secret. "Austin," she sighed, becoming rather serious._

_Sonic Boom was quiet, leaving Austin and Ally alone to amuse themselves while they waited for their friends to arrive. At least Austin was amusing himself in the form of Ally's lips. Ally however, did not find it so amusing._

"_Austin," she pouted, her bottom lip protruding surprisingly far. _

"_Ally," Austin mimicked her voice before kissing her again._

_Again, Ally pulled away making sure that there was a healthy boundary between the two of them. She found herself unable to continue however, because Austin had interrupted her once again._

"_Do we have to tell them?"_

_Ally groaned. Repositioning herself so she was facing Austin once again, she leaned in closer to him. "Yes Austin," she said, placing a hand behind his head, her fingers playing in his mop of blond hair. She lightly kissed him. "I mean I'm not exactly your girlfriend anymore," she cooed._

"Hey Ally."

Ally was quickly brought out of her current daydream by the familiar voice of the man seated beside her. She was only here to talk to the man, so why was she thinking about making out with Austin? Pushing a strand of her long dark hair behind her ears, Ally stared straight ahead, wondering how to best initiate the conversation. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes listening to the sound of the water hitting the rocks. Turning her body, Ally brought her left knee up to her chin so she could hug her leg.

"Jason," she said, flickering her chocolate brown orbs open once again to peer at him. "I'm really glad we could meet here," she smiled at him, admiring the beauty of the scenery. Before she continued, her smile turned upside down into a frown once more. She sighed again, unsure of how to say what she wanted to say to him. "I like you a lot, but there's something I should have told you when we met and every day since then." Pausing, she tried to gauge his reaction. He didn't say anything or even move as he waited for her to continue. "Jason, I'm married and I love my husband so much and I could never leave him for someone else."

Jason's bright green eyes became dark and downcast as he ignored her presence and looked down at his shoes. "Oh," he muttered. His reaction wasn't what Ally had expected at all, although she didn't really know how she had expected him to react. By the reaction he did give her however, Ally knew that he was hurt and upset. Looking back to Ally, a familiar twinkle that Austin normally had in his eyes when he was being mischievous, glinted in Jason's eyes. "So, I have no chance of being with a famous singer and songwriter?" He grinned.

Registering his meaning, Ally grinned before sighing in relief. He wasn't upset then. "No," she smiled back to him. "But you do have a chance with a famous singer and songwriter's lazy manager who hates working." Ally jumped to her feet and Jason did the same. Grateful that she didn't hurt him like she had first thought, Ally wrapped her arms around him in a friendly hug. "Friends?" she asked.

"Friends," Jason confirmed, returning the hug. Giving her body one last squeeze, he added as an afterthought. "So can you give me Trish's phone number then?"

"Allyson, don't make me say your middle name, Moon!"

Hearing the voice of the angry Latina, Ally chuckled against him, her body vibrating against his as she laughed. "I was wondering if she was going to wake up sometime today."

**xXx**

Dez was nowhere in sight and for once, Austin was grateful that his goofy friend was not around. While he always enjoyed Dez's company, Austin wanted to be alone as he called Ally. What Austin said to his wife was nobody else's business, and that's how it was going to stay. Grabbing his phone, he took a seat on the floor, leaning against his bunk. Hoping it was an ideal time for Ally to talk, he pressed the call button before placing the phone against his ear. Waiting for Ally to pick up, he tapped a rhythm out on his outstretched legs.

"Hello?" Her voice sounded groggy as if she'd just woken up.

"Happy anniversary, Ally." He tried to smile so it was evident in his voice, but it failed him and wavered instead as he thought about that damn article from a few days ago. She didn't know that he had seen the article and maybe they should keep it that way.

Austin could hear her sigh into the phone, but couldn't decide if she was happy to hear from him or not. "Austin," her tone was curt and short. "It's 3 a.m.!"

Was that a growl? Was she actually growling at him? Shaking his head, Austin decided that he was hearing things before he continued. "I'm sorry, Baby," he said softly in a loving tone as he regretted waking her. "I just wanted to say Happy Anniversary."

"You're such an ass, Austin Monica Moon!" exclaimed in rage into the phone and Austin swore he could see her eyes roll. "Our anniversary was yesterday!"

**xXx**

Suddenly, she didn't care if it was in the early hours of the morning or that Trish was asleep in the next bed. Her blood was boiling and she was ready to fight.

Dez deleted the voicemail she left on his phone before he had a chance to listen to it.

The time zone difference confused him.

Austin could ramble off all of the lame bullshit excuses he wanted to, but she refused to believe him. Why did he have to lie? Why couldn't that idiot just admit that he forgot? Didn't he know that she hated being lied to more than anything?

"I don't want to hear your excuses, Austin."

"They're not excuses!" she heard him fire back rapidly. "They're the truth! I wouldn't forget our anniversary!"

Part of her knew that she should listen to him and forgive him, but the rational side of her didn't exist right now as her feelings and emotions took over her body. She'd been staring at a picture of them taken from their wedding a lot lately. In fact she'd been staring at it every time her mind wandered to Jason. Being reminded of how happy she and Austin had once been was a little way to keep her thoughts off of Jason. It didn't always work. Tipping the picture over, Ally closed her eyes remembering how happy they'd once been in their relationship.

"_You could show me a picture of your dress," Austin suggested with a flirtatious wink, wrapping his arms tighter around her petite waist._

_Rolling her eyes, Ally stood on her tip toes, placing a light and gentle kiss on his lips. "Haven't you been listening to your mother's superstitions?" She asked, a grin spreading across her face, lighting up her already bright eyes. Enthusiastically, Austin shook his head, earning a hearty laugh from his fiancé. "Well, according to your mother its bad luck for the groom to see the bride in her dress before the wedding."_

"_Even looking a picture?" Austin whined. _

_Ally chuckled, her grin growing in diameter. _

"_Right," Trish said watching the scene between the two young lovers unfold. Watching Austin and Ally make googly eyes at each other sickened her and so she did what any sensible best friend would do. Grabbing Dez's wrist, she yanked him forward, wedging between Austin and Ally. _

_Austin rolled his eyes. It's not like they were making out or anything._

_Ally blushed._

"_Do you remember my old catering job?" Trish asked Austin and Ally._

"_Yeah," the simultaneously replied._

"_You sucked," Dez reminded her in high sing song pitch._

"_Well, it turns that my old boss's daughter is a huge Austin Moon fan and when I told him that I was planning Austin Moon's wedding to Ally Dawson, he decided to give you guys a discount. Now about the cake. I might have to violate the restraining order another old boss has against me, but-"_

_Dez squeaked, jumping to his feet. Turning around so he was facing Trish he said, "I'm making the cake!"_

"_Yeah!" Austin jumped in, standing next to Dez so that he was facing the girls as well. "Dez makes great wedding cakes!"_

"_Yeah!" Dez replied happily. "And I've already found the perfect cake toppers!" He exclaimed, digging through his backpack. Holding two character Barbie dolls out he said, "Austin and Ally dolls!"_

Her friends were goofy as they attempted to plan her and Austin's wedding. However, she and Austin always made the final say_. _Dez and Trish wanted to plan their best friends' wedding. Austin and Ally wanted to make out, agonizing over the long months before they could become man and wife. Any and all disagreements and arguments ended in a kiss. That's how easy things were. But they weren't kids anymore, dreaming of getting married. They were adults and they were married. And things were not so easy.

Ally sighed, her eyes abruptly flashing open. "I hate this and I hate you, Austin."

"You hate me?" she heard him ask through the phone, his voice sounding quite venomous. "You hate me? I should be the one hating you, Ally! You refused to answer my calls or call me back for months!"

"We've barely been on tour two months, Moron!" Ally shouted.

"Oh, you know what I mean!"

Picking the picture frame up, Ally looked one more time at how happy she and Austin looked in that picture. Frowning at the memory, she sent the frame into flight. It was all lies anyway, why would she want to remember that one particular memory anyways? Closing her eyes tight shut, Ally refused to watch the frame crack, the glass breaking into tiny little pieces. Hearing the breaking glass, Ally broke out into sobs.

"But I guess you would hate me," Austin continued, not stopping. "Especially, since you were cheating!"

Slamming her fist against the ground, Ally cried even harder. "I didn't cheat!" she screamed, trying to defend her honor.

"Oh yeah right!" She heard Austin spat sarcastically into the phone, causing her to roll her eyes. "In case you didn't know, they have the internet in Switzerland! I saw that _Cheetah Beat _article! I know you no longer wear your rings! The rings that _I _gave you!"

Her blood boiling, she jumped to her feet, kicking the object closet to her, the wall. "God damn it! I didn't cheat, Austin!" She cried into the phone, wishing there wasn't 3000 miles between them so she could hit him. Since she couldn't pound his chest with her clenched fists, she opted for the wall. Austin's voice made her blood curl in anger.

"Then you wanted to," She heard Austin mumble into the phone.

That last line, made her punch the wall as hard a she could. "Yes, I wanted to cheat!" Hearing her own solid confession, she stumbled backwards, falling onto her butt. Closing her eyes, she felt dirty and self-loathing. Were things really that bad between them that she would find solace in the arms of another? Her feelings about Jason changed like the tide every time she talked to him. Sometimes she found him sweet, other times overbearing. While originally she found him overbearing and annoying, those feelings quickly changed. His presence was constant, unlike Austin's.

Telling Jason that she had no desire to leave her husband was the right thing to do.

But was wanting to feel loved such a crime?

**xXx**

Hearing her confession, Austin dropped the phone in shock. She didn't cheat, but she wanted to. Did she really not love him anymore? Was he really that bad of a husband to her? He could hear her sobs and cries of frustration and desperation, sounding a lot like he felt on the inside. But, he couldn't cry. He had to be strong. Angry was an understatement. Right now Austin wished that the damn article had revealed the man's name so he could track him down and twist his arms behind his back so far one could hear the bones cracking across the room. It'd be a little hard trying to impress Ally with two broken arms.

Breathing deep, Austin counted backwards from ten. If that's the way that Ally felt. He wouldn't stand in her way. He was done trying to fight for her. He sighed again before picking the phone back up. "Ally, I can't live this way anymore and neither do you. If you want to seek the affections of other men, go ahead. I'm done. When I get back to Miami, I'm moving out and filing for divorce."

**xXx**

Divorce. Oh God. Her worst nightmares were going to come true. As much as she wanted to fight him on that decision, she knew she couldn't. His mind was already made up and there was no changing it.

"Good."

"Fine."

Hearing the sense of finality in his voice as he said that one simple word, Ally cried even more. It was official, her marriage would soon be over and there was nothing she could do about it.

**xXx**

One more deep breath and then he would speak. "Well, I just called to say happy anniversary, sweetheart," he said scowling. "So, happy anniversary, Ally fucking Dawson." He was just saying all of that to goad her because he knew it would make her scream. And maybe it was wrong to edge her on like he was doing, but he didn't care.

"Austin, you bastard!" she screeched at her.

He wanted to smile at how well he managed to get under her skin right now.

"It's still Moon and we're still married!"

"Yeah, well not for long!"

He probably shouldn't have said that last part, but he didn't care. All he cared about was having the last word. He heard her scream at him before the line went dead. Good riddance. He didn't want to talk to her either.

**xXx**

"_I'm sorry! Sophie Morris wouldn't leave me alone! I couldn't just shove her in a locker!"_

_Ally looked closely at the pencil in her hand as if it were quite interesting and not just piece of wood. "Aw," she pouted, peering closely at the broken tip. "My pencil broke," she said, digging through her bag for a pencil sharpener._

_Rolling his eyes, Austin reached forward, grabbing the pencil and the pencil sharpener from her grasp. With little effort, the wooden pencil snapped in half from the strength of his grip._

"_Austin!"_

_Ally was upset. Austin didn't need to be an Einstein or have an IQ of 187 to figure that out. Effortlessly, the two halves of the pencil glided across the room. Shoving the pencil sharpener back into Ally's hand, Austin tried apologizing again._

_Rolling her eyes, Ally dug through her bag to find another pencil. "Oh please," she muttered. Finding another pencil, Ally's frown lifted into a small smile. Frowning again, she added, "Sophie Morris has been throwing herself at you ever since she found out we were engaged."_

_A smile graced Austin's lips as his mind pieced together Ally's words and her emotions like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle when he began to understand that Ally was jealous. He knew of something that would change her sour mood._

_Opening his Algebra book and pulling a black notebook out of his bag, Austin used peripheral vision to watch her sharpening her new pencil. Her perpetual scowl did nothing for her face. Clearing his throat, Austin snatched her attention away from menial task._

"_July 23."_

_Ally set down her pencil sharpener. "Excuse Me." She asked._

"_July 23__rd__," Austin repeated._

_Shrugging his shoulders like it was no big deal, Austin replied with, "I just thought I'd marry the greatest girl on earth that day."_

"_Really?"_

"_Yeah!"_

_He smiled._

_She smiled._

_Then she threw herself into his waiting arms, placing a long and wet kiss to his lips. _

Why couldn't they go back to fighting like that? Then, cheating was the farthest thing from either one of their minds and desperate horny cheerleaders were the cause for all their drama. It was so easy to kiss and make up then, like their problems instantly blew away like a piece of paper flying in the wind. That memory of them were one of her favorites. Soon, all she would have left of him were these memories. Pulling her knees to her chest, Ally rested her chin on her bony knees, salty tears streaming down her face.

"Ally?"

It wasn't until she heard Trish's voice did Ally realize that she hadn't heard her friend snoring for quite some time. She had probably of heard the entire conversation between her and Austin.

"Are you okay, Ally?" Trish asked, crawling out of bed to sit next to the sobbing woman.

"Things are over between me and Austin. He's filing for divorce."

**xXx**

Austin was sprawled out on the floor when Dez arrived back at the tour bus with some food sometime later. The grown man did not cry like a baby. He refused to cry the entire time he was screaming at Ally, although he wanted.

Setting the bag of food down on the nearest surface, Dez laid himself down beside his best friend, just staring at the ceiling. He knew Austin was upset and needed cheering up, but before he would turn into a lovable goofball, Austin would need to speak first. A sigh escaped Austin's lips as they just lied there in silence, never moving and never talking. Dez wondered if Austin would say something. But he didn't. Not for a few agonizing long minutes.

"I need a good break up song," Austin commented, turning his head to the side to look over at Dez. "Do you think that Taylor Swift would write me one?"

Dez also looked at Austin. "Why do you need a good break up song?"

Again, Austin sighed, readjusting his head so that he was staring back up at the ceiling. "Because," he said quietly, almost in a whisper like he had a deep dark secret to tell. "Things aren't going to work out between me and Ally."

**Author's Note: Wow, I think this is the longest chapter and I hope you enjoyed it. There are only about five chapters left, so this story is slowly coming to a close. A few chapters ago, I decided to give Austin some flashbacks. Well, in this chapter, Ally was the one having flashbacks. The first flashback was from another story I've written titled **_**Birds and Birdbrains. **_**The other flashbacks are from other stories of mine as well. There titles are **_**Frank and Fiancés **_**and **_**Weddings and Wives. **_**Again, these stories are not yet posted on this sight, but will be once this story is completed since it gets a little complicated when I try to work on more than one story at a time. I love to hear from my readers. I love you all, so if you have something to say, please say it! Lastly, chapter 10 will be up soon so please watch for that.**__


	10. I Still Love You

"I didn't know which kind you wanted," Trish announced arriving back to the bunks with two tubs of ice cream in her hand. "So I got you both."

Forcing a smile, Ally grabbed the nearest carton of ice cream. Trish knew her so well. Chocolate ice cream was reserved for fighting with Austin. Fruity Mint Swirl was for any other occasion. Opening the tub, she smiled when Trish handed her a spoon. Digging into the best invention ever, Ally tried her hardest not to think about the reason why she needed to eat her heart out. All the same, the tears came flooding back, falling down her face like a waterfall.

If it were anyone else crying like a baby over failed relationships, Trish would tense up, slap them across the face and tell them to man up because men just weren't worth crying over. But because it was Ally, she didn't. She bought the distressed woman two different flavors of ice cream, patted her shoulder, all while plotting Austin Moon's slow and painful death. No one messed with Trish De La Rosa or her best friend.

_Trish bustled around the small church, making sure that everything was perfect for the biggest event in history: her best friend's wedding. The guests were seated, the paparazzi chained up in the bathroom, and the music played. Everything was perfect and nothing was going to ruin this day. If anyone or anything did, they would have to answer to her. Scowling just in order to scare anyone off who didn't belong, she barged into the room where Austin and Dez were getting ready._

"_Out, Doofus!" she shouted to Dez. Grabbing his bowtie, the scared red head ran out of the room before Trish could inflict any sort of pain or bodily harm on him. _

_Satisfied that they were now alone, Trish jabbed her finger into Austin's chest. Surprised and little scared at how predator like Trish could be, Austin gulped; looking down at the finger jabbed into his shirt clad chest. As much as Austin wanted to get away at that moment, he knew he couldn't. Besides Trish was standing between him and the way out._

_Her finger retreated before jamming itself back into his chest harder. "If you hurt her, Austin Monica Moon," the short girl seethed. "I will rip out your voice box and feed it to her annoying pet bird!"_

Trish was a woman of her word and if she threatened to staple a mouse to someone's face or to rip out their voice box, she would. Patting Ally's shoulder, she attempted to comfort the inconsolable woman. Ally cried all the more, causing Trish to sigh.

"Maybe, I should call him."

No you really shouldn't. At least that's what kept running through Trish's mind as if it were her favorite song on repeat. And if it were anyone else, Trish would have slapped them for being stupid and wanting to call the person that just broke their heart. But Trish had to be supportive of her friend, which meant supporting Ally's decisions, no matter how harebrained they were.

So she replied with, "Maybe."

**xXx**

"What am I going to do?" Austin muttered to himself, not getting up off the floor where's he lain since his fight with Ally, stating that he wanted a divorce. He wasn't even sure how long he's been lying there like that, but knew it's been a while by the stiffness of his muscles. Never in the ten years had he known her, had he ever come close to losing her, until now. After she had agreed to become his partner, he never dreamed how far her songs could take him. To record deals, to tours, it was all so amazing and all because of her overflowing songwriting talent. Ten years ago, he never would have thought that she would be a huge part of his life or that he would ever be afraid of losing her, even though he was the one that suggested a divorce. And he was afraid of losing her. She knew him so well, they didn't always need to use words to speak. Just their glances would speak volumes to them. With one look and she seemed to know what he was thinking…Most of the time anyways.

Just thinking about her and how he was afraid to lose her made Austin realize that he didn't want a divorce. It would be the easiest and less drama filled solution for either of them, but he still loved her. Shading his eyes with his hand, Austin groaned. Oh, what was he thinking? Just because you still loved your spouse didn't mean you won't get divorced. Everyone knows that Haley divorced Hotch because she couldn't handle his job anymore, not because she stopped loving him. Hell, even those parents in _The Parent Trap _still had to have loved each other, otherwise the kids' schemes wouldn't have worked to get them back together. Of course _Criminal Minds _and _The Parent Trap _were pure fiction and for entertainment purposes only and were in no way connected to what happened in real life.

No, it was too late to save his marriage and he knew it. He suggested divorce. She agreed to it. End of story. Austin and Ally was over. There would be no more second chances. Besides, how many second chances has she already given him? She gave him a second chance and agreed to be his music partner after he stole her song, Double Take. She gave him a second chance after he blew off his friends for a new and professional manager and songwriters. She gave him a second chance to date her. She gave him a second chance to-No, he was probably out of second chances when it came to her. Ally was a generous person, but there always came a time when that generosity ran out. Now, was probably that time.

Oh God, did this mean the end of his career as well? Could he find another songwriter that understood him like Ally did? He doubted it. She was the reason why his songs were different and not so cliché like other artists' music. They were different and people liked different. People liked them. They liked Austin and Ally. Only, Austin and Ally was over. What would happen to him? In a few years he could be flipping burgers at McDonald's for minimum wage and end up on one of those _Where Are They Now? _Sitcoms on TV. And life in the food service industry, did not appeal to him. In fact it appealed worse to him than selling mattresses for a living.

Dez was snickering at the computer screen. Obviously, whatever he was reading was rather funny.

"What am I going to do?" He asked, pulling Dez out of his world of creativity.

Dez closed the laptop and set it aside. Becoming quite somber, the red head crossed his right leg over his left knee and folded his hands to rest them in his lap. Narrowing his eyes, Dez looked straight at Austin, scrutinizing him. How quickly Dez could change from a goofball friend to therapist alarmed Austin a little bit, but he was glad that he could always talk to Dez about anything and everything.

"You have two choices," Dez told him. "You can hop on the next flight home and beg for Ally to take you back," he said, holding one finger up. As he continued he added another finger to hold up. "Or, you can lose your wife, your best friend, your songwriter, and your career, and become the next dog food guy."

Oh hell no! There was no way in hell that he would eat dog food for a living.

There was only one thing he could do then.

**xXx**

Trish couldn't stop laughing and it was making Ally even more miserable. Really, how can someone be so care-free and light hearted when their best friend was in the middle of a crisis? Tears would not stop streaming down her face, even as she worked on the second carton of ice cream. Realizing that she probably gained fifty pounds from the ice cream, Ally cried even harder. Deciding that she should at least try to get this mess out of her head, Ally trudged over to Trish with the carton of ice cream in hand.

"What are you doing?" she hiccupped.

Looking up from her computer, Trish scooted over on the bench seat to make room for Ally. "I'm reading funny stories about you and Austin," she admitted sheepishly. Hearing Trish's confession, Ally groaned. How could there be any humorous stories about her and Austin? Right now any stories she could remember about her and Austin were all angst. "There's this one author that I really like. His pen name is FreckledFriend81413 and he writes amazing stories. He doesn't just write about you and Austin either! He writes about Zaliens too! If I knew for a fact that he wasn't some old creepy stalker or a goofball like Dez, I'd totally marry him." Trish gushed, telling her friend about the fan fiction author she seemingly had a creepy crush on.

Ally ignored Trish's ramblings, continuing to wallow in her self-pity. "I'm such an idiot," Ally sobbed, slamming her face into her ice cream, not caring if she made a mess of the place.

And she was an idiot.

"_I'm moving out and filing for divorce."_

"_Good."_

Good. That's what she had said to him. Good. As in good riddance, I won't have to deal with you anymore. Good. As in I'm glad. Good. Why had she said that? Why had she agreed with him? Why didn't she fight him on that? She fought him on everything else.

Realizing that it wasn't a good time for fan fiction and funny stories, Trish sighed, slamming the laptop shut. Reaching an arm out over Ally's shoulders, Trish gave her friend a gentle squeeze, resting her head atop Ally's as Ally dropped her head onto Trish's shoulder to cry. "You're not an idiot, Ally," Trish sighed.

"Yes, I am!" Ally wailed even more. "He declares he's filing for divorce and all I can say is 'good'. Good!"

Trish really wasn't the comforting, you can cry on my shoulder, type of friend. She was more of an, I've got a shovel and back yard, this sucker is so dead, type of friend. But, the loud and obnoxious Latina would do anything for Ally. Including letting death deserving scumbags live a little bit longer. Balling her fists in rage, Trish thought about the hurtful things Austin had said to Ally. Of course Ally had said some hurtful things to Austin as well, but Trish didn't care about that stupid rock star right now. She cared about Ally and that that stupid rock star had hurt Ally. Therefore he should die slowly and painfully.

"I don't want to lose him," Ally sobbed.

Austin should still die, but unfortunately, Ally still loved him. And as miserable as she was with him, she'd be even more miserable without him.

Rolling her eyes dramatically, Trish knew why she didn't get involved in serious relationships like that. There was always too much drama involved, drama that she could easily live without. Unless of course, she was the one causing the drama.

**xXx**

"Give me that!" Austin exclaimed, yanking the laptop from Dez's grip. He was a man on a mission and nothing was going to stand in his way. He needed a place on the next plane headed to Miami, Florida. From there, if he had to, he would take a few pointers from Trish and threaten Ronny Ramone into disclosing Ally's whereabouts to him. Holding his breath, Austin anxiously scrolled through the travel website he was on. Screaming in desperation from his failed search results, Austin smashed his fist into his forehead. "Because of the fog and heavy rain in Miami, all flights to and from there and cancelled."

"Good," Dez mumbled, taking the laptop back. "Aw, you lost my conversation with my biggest fan, newJobKabob007," he whined.

"Find something else to write about besides me and Ally! It's creepy!" Austin exclaimed, hopping up from his seat next to his best friend so he could resort to pacing.

And it was creepy. But that was the farthest thing from his mind right now. Right now, he had to concentrate on making a plan. It wasn't possible to surprise Ally on her tour. He didn't even know where she was. Besides, walking out on the last month of tour might wreck his dreams of a world tour. Maybe he should just call her? Oh yeah right, she probably won't answer his calls anymore. Not after the divorce agreement.

"What am I gonna do?!" He cried out in frustration, pacing the floor even faster.

Sighing, Dez placed the laptop on the bench seat beside him and in two long strides joined Austin in the middle of the room. When Austin's pacing brought him face to face with Dez, the squirrelly red head, thumped his forehead. This action immediately caused Austin to stop pacing and listen to his best friend. "You're gonna forget Ally's name and you're gonna finish your tour and you're not gonna mope around all depressed!" That was definitely Dez's voice, but it sounded more like something Trish would do and say. Furrowing his brows and cute scrunch of his nose could only mean one thing. Austin Moon was confused. It was like all of a sudden Dez and Trish had switched bodies or something. Upon seeing that his best friend was confused, Dez shook his head, placing a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder. "Sorry Buddy," he apologized with a smile. "But you were acting like you were in the last chapter of my newest story and newJobKabob007 said that somebody needed to slap the stupid out of you. I think you should call Ally."

"She won't answer my calls!" Austin protested.

Dez shrugged, "newJobKabob007 sounds like a violent person," he comment. "If Trish ever meets newJobKabob007, I'm gonna have to take out a restraining order out against Trish because she does not sound like a good influence."

Rolling his eyes, Austin resumed his pacing the floor. He didn't have time for such nonsense right now. Not when he had to find a way to prevent himself from losing the greatest person he's ever known.

**xXx**

Ally sighed, taking a deep breath as she confidently walked up to Trish, her cell phone in hand. The bubbly Latina was laughing hysterically at her laptop. Placing her fingers to her face, Ally quickly checked for any stray tears. There were none. Good. She didn't need to bust out bawling again in a fit of hysterics.

"newJobKabob007 says to FreckledFriend81413," Trish muttered frantically to herself as she vigorously typed away at the keyboard.

"What are you doing?" Ally quietly asked, holding her cell phone up so that Trish could see.

"Oh make your call," Trish shrugged, waving Ally off. "You won't bother me."

Sighing, Ally closed her eyes as she shook her head. Opening the brown orbs once again, Ally looked at Trish. She stated matter-of-factly, "I'm gonna call him.

"Schmuck," Trish mumbled to herself hearing Ally's decision, mentally making a note to herself to get more ice cream for her best friend. She made no indication that she was going to move from her current spot anytime soon.

"Can you leave?" Ally asked, suddenly growing shy, quiet, and nervous again. "I think it best if this conversation is just between me and Austin."

Rolling her eyes, Trish pushed herself to her feet, only a little offended by Ally's request for her to leave.

Ally let out a deep breath as she curled herself up in her bunk, grateful for the privacy. Just staring at his name, the young woman tried to regain the courage she had suddenly just lost. Giving herself one last pep talk to just call Austin before she chickened out again, Ally squeezed her eyes tight shut, pushing the dreaded call button. She knew there was no way she would have been able to do the simple act if she could see what she was doing. Quickly opening her eyes again, Ally placed the phone to her ear. It was ringing. There was no backing out now.

**xXx**

"Austin! Austin! Austin!"

The crowd was chanting his name as if it were some kind of mantra as they anxiously awaited him to make his appearance on stage. But those excitedly chanting fans would have to wait, Austin told himself as he scooped his buzzing phone out of his pocket. There looking like an angel was Ally's picture smiling up at him. For a minute there, Austin wasn't sure if he could breathe. She was calling him. Almost two days after agreeing that divorce was inevitable, she was calling him. Yup, those fans would definitely have to wait, especially since his wife was calling him. He had just accepted the call and placed the phone to his ear when Dez and two others began pushing him towards the stage.

"What?!" he snapped at them, unknowingly into the phone. First he heard a gasp and then small sob come from the other end and he immediately knew that Ally thought he was snapping at her. "Ally," he sighed, his tone much gentler so he wouldn't scare her. One glare towards the idiots trying to end his marriage for good by pulling him away from his phone and out onto the stage, Austin silently mouthed to Dez one word.

"Ally."

He knew Dez would understand that this call was not one that he could just hang up on.

"I wasn't snapping at you, Ally," he spoke into the phone, ignoring the protests of crowd and crew as he went someplace more private to talk. None of them needed to hear what he was saying to his wife.

**xXx**

"Austin," she whispered, her voice barely audible, "I'm scared." Hugging her pillow, like a child hugging its favorite toy, Ally kept her eyes downcast. She wondered if Austin had trouble hearing her or if he could sense her emotions. Hearing Austin sigh into the phone, Ally knew that he had heard what she said and that he understood too. Feeling a few stray tears escape her down her face, Ally quickly wiped them away with her fingers. Timidly, Ally continued, "If things don't work out between us, Austin, I'd lose my partner, my best friend, and my husband all in one day; and I don't think that I could handle that."

Hearing him sigh once again, Ally wondered what was going through his head, wondering if he felt the same way she did. Waiting for him to speak, the scared woman's breath hitched as she started to hold it, anxiously waiting for him to speak. It felt like hours had passed before she heard him say, "I know."

It may have been a two word, simple little sentence, but sometimes those sentences that say the least, speak the most. I know. It meant as little as I understand and as much as I agree with you completely and feel the same. Knowing what Austin meant with that one little sentence, Ally released the breath that she'd been holding. Unsure of what to say to him next, Ally found herself racking her brain for just the right words. Coming up empty handed, she remained silent for the longest time. Eventually, she spoke, but she found she could say one word and one world only.

"Austin."

Austin. It was the only word left in her vocabulary at the moment as her mind went blank. Finding herself unable to focus on anything else but him, Ally repeated his name. Then the silence resumed. She didn't speak and neither did he. Both knew that words weren't what they needed right now. Right now, they needed the silence to think first about life, then them, and finally the words they were going to speak. She was unsure of long this silence lasted and she doubted that he knew either. But finally, she found she could speak again.

"What happens now?"

"Ally," he sighed into the phone, slowly and tenderly.

Unable to understand what he was trying to say, Ally closed her eyes, salty tears streaming down her face. Perhaps she had misunderstood the meaning of 'I know.' Maybe, he still wanted a divorce.

But eventually he continued. "I don't know what to do. All I know is that I don't want to lose you."

Sighing and despite her tears, Ally decided to speak. When he wasn't strong enough to figure out what do, she gave him back the strength that he needed to feel strong again. However, the only way to do that was show strength herself. She didn't want to show strength right now, being so scared to death of the end of her marriage.

She said, "I don't want to lose you either." Her confession was spoken softly and through quiet whimpering sobs. Taking another deep breath, Ally continued. "Maybe we should just try to communicate more while we're apart," she suggested calmly, though she was anything but calm. "Our tours only last another month. We'll talk whenever we get the chance. Then in a month when we get home we can sit down and figure out what is the best thing for us." Austin sighed into the phone again and Ally knew he was nodding his head in agreement to her words. Smiling, she said through her tears, "I can't hear you nodding, Austin."

"I like that plan," Austin said, with a hint of his own smile.

"Austin," she said, her voice sinking into a whisper again. "I still love you."

She could hear the smile in his voice as he ended the call with, "I still love you too, Ally."


	11. Insecurities

Way back when they were just friends, Austin would tell her that she was beautiful and any guy that she crushed on that rejected her, just wasn't good enough for her. Austin Moon was a sweet guy and his charm and devotion to her was probably what made her fall in love with him in the first place. It was times like this when Ally didn't feel beautiful that she would remember times like talking to Austin under a table because she was so embarrassed to even show her face. It was times like these when she really took his words to heart. But Austin wasn't there and those memories were all she had to cling to right now.

With her hair pulled back into a messy ponytail, Ally scratched her cheek, her day old foundation rubbing off on her fingers. Yawning, she weakly pulled her suitcases inside the door of her home. It was good to be home, Ally reflected. She hated living out of a suitcase and those bunks on tour buses were nothing compared to the fluffy mattress of her own bed. Besides, coming home meant that Austin would be there shortly.

But Austin wasn't there and he wouldn't be for another week. She's gone three months without him and she would survive a little bit longer without him as well. Although part of her was excited to see Austin in a week, part of her was absolutely dreading the thought. The few times they'd communicated while apart, they'd fought. In the last fight, Austin had stated he wanted a divorce. The handfuls of conversations they've shared in the past month since then were spent treading on thin ice, afraid of another fight breaking out between them. While they had agreed to work on their marriage because both were afraid to lose the other, Ally still feared the end of her marriage was near. Just because a couple decided to work on their marriage didn't automatically mean their marriage was saved, did it?

Pushing her analyzing thoughts out of her head, Ally trudged, dragging her feet through the house and up the stairs to her bedroom as she was so tired. She had given one last concert last night and the frisky crowd had gotten a little out of control. Then spending what was left of the night talking to Austin , trying to make plans for next week when he arrived home, she hadn't of gotten any sleep. But none of that mattered, Ally told herself, pushing the door to her bedroom open. Almost sleep walking, Ally flopped face first into the sheets.

Just one quick nap, she promised herself. Then she would go see her Dad. Just one quick nap…

_There's no way I can make it without ya_

_Do it without ya_

_Be here without ya_

A smile crept across Ally's lips as she listened to the familiar words being sung by the familiar voice. _Austin's still supposed to be in Europe. Why is he in our bedroom, serenading me? _Ally's subconscious mind asked herself. Upon asking the question, the woman laid there in bed, not thinking about it, not really thinking of anything. Suddenly realizing the source of the music, Ally's eyes popped open, abruptly forcing her to fly out of bed to search for her phone.

Shaking her head, Ally reprimanded herself for foolishly thinking that Austin could actually be home and singing to her. If she had kept her normal ringtone, she never would have asked herself such a foolish question, her phone ringing registering to her brain immediately. But Austin had set _Can't Do It Without Ya _as her ringtone ever since his European tour was booked, stating that there was no way that he could have done it without her.

Her fingers grasping the device, Ally accepted the call and placed the phone to her ear. Without bothering to look at the caller I.D. Ally groggily greeted her caller. If her calculations were correct, it should be he sounding like he just woke up and not wide awake. It was probably the middle of the night where he was. Austin couldn't help but laugh at the way she answered the phone, sounding asleep. "Long night?" he chuckled in reply to her groggy hello.

He knew her so well that she knew that he knew that she was rolling her eyes at his statement. "Excuse me," she replied sarcastically. Her sarcastic tone caused Austin to frown. "I was just up all night talking to this really cute guy on the phone."

When she heard Austin smirk and ask, "how cute," was when she decided to play with him. "Oh very cute," Ally purred flirtatiously. "He has kind eyes."

"Uh-uh."

He sounded so jealous right then and Ally almost felt bad for goading him so, but she continued. "And hair that flops just the right way."

"Yeah."

The jealously scale meter was rapidly increasing and Ally couldn't help but picture Austin as a cat with his back arched, hair raised, and hissing. Still, she continued to tease him. "Oh and he smells like a fresh summer's breeze."

"Ally…"

But Ally chose to ignore him, gushing, "And the hottest thing of all is that his name is the same as that of a city in Texas."

Even if at least 3000 miles separated them with a giant ocean in between, Ally could picture Austin narrowing his eyes and pouting. "Ally, I swear if you're talking about Dallas, I'm gonna-"Nope, he definitely was not happy.

Rolling her eyes, Ally decided to put him out of his misery. "Austin," she said pointedly. "I'm talking about you."

**xXx**

Huffing at Ally's little game, Austin wanted to chastise her, but decided against it. Chastising her would only fuel a fire, erupting it into a full blown fight and they didn't need that right now. It was just that once upon a time Ally had used that same exact description for someone else, someone that wasn't him. Of course ten years ago when that description was about the cell phone accessory cart guy and not him, Austin was just relieved to know that Ally did not have a crush on him. It was almost comically ironic how ten years after that fiasco, he was trying to save his marriage to the exact same girl he swore he would never like as more than a friend.

"You are so insecure."

What was that? Austin almost didn't catch her mumbled statement. Insecure? She was calling him insecure? If anyone was insecure, it'd be her. After all, she was the one that would get jealous whenever he shown interest in any girl that wasn't him. Before and after their first short and failed try at being something more than friends. Oh, who was he kidding? He had been jealous first when glue gun guy showed up from camp Whack-A-Mole or wherever the hell he was from. Then, he did automatically assume she was cheating on him after reading that article. What kind of husband would do that if they really loved and trusted their wife? But still, weren't they past that whole cheating misunderstanding? Why was she so dead set on resurrecting what they had already buried?

"I'm insecure?" He asked incredulously, his voice rising at every new syllable he spoke.

"Yes you are!" She accused him again and Austin knew that he had indeed fueled the fire that he hadn't wanted to. "Who did you think I was talking about? You know I was talking to you last night!"

He knew they shouldn't get into this, but it was too late. It had already been started, and finishing an argument calmly and with dignity was not something he was good at. Clenching his fist, he fired back, "Well, I think I kind of have the right to be, considering _my wife _was flirting with other men!"

He heard her exasperated sigh, rejuvenating her strength to fight back. "I didn't cheat!"

"But you _wanted to_!" He snapped, accenting it to make his point stand out.

Hearing her light sobs over the phone, Austin knew that he had gone too far. Yet he didn't care. Maybe he had hurt her by reminding her of that fact, but couldn't she see that just the thought of her wanting the attention and affections of another was hurting him? Why was he always afraid of hurting her feelings? What about his? Didn't his feelings matter to her?

"I don't want to fight anymore and neither do you," Ally whispered. Her voice sounded so small and frail, much like her body was. "Can we just discuss this like adults when you get home next week?"

"Fine."

"Fine."

No declarations of love were said as their parting goodbyes and Austin knew he would not be getting to sleep anytime soon. Staring up at the ceiling, there was only one thing that passed through Austin's mind. The same question he's been asking himself ever since he saw that damn _Cheetah Beat _article rumoring an Auslly divorce. And that question was: when did things get so bad?

**xXx**

Angry, Ally threw the phone across the bedroom and hearing it hit the wall, sent her to her knees in body racking sobs. Why did Austin have to be such a jerk at times? Why was he so hell bound on kitchen sinking every fight they had and bringing up her cheating? Why couldn't he just let that go? His accusations still stung like that of a bee sting to the bottom of the foot. Well, if Austin Moon was just going to act like an insecure baby then good riddance. He didn't always have to ruin her happiness. Rising to her knees, Ally left her phone where it lay trudging to the bathroom to shower and change. Today would be a good day and she wouldn't think about Austin Monica Moon at all.

**xXx**

It was already late in the afternoon by the time Ally arrived at Sonic Boom. Closing her eyes, thousands of memories danced through her mind reminding her of all the good times her and Austin spent here alone or with Dez and Trish.

"_I guess we're officially a couple now."_

Sonic Boom had housed many different adventures for them over the years. Reminiscing over them all, only brought even more tears to her eyes. Before they could fall, Ally wiped them away, grateful for the waterproof mascara she wore. Blinking the renegades away, Ally focused on the sight of the store. Nothing had changed about Sonic Boom since she'd stopped working for her father. The downstairs was exactly the same and so was her father's cluttered office. The only difference was that her and Austin's old practice room lay abandoned, becoming just another black hole of a storage room. When they had bought their house and decided to make the roomy basement their new practice room, much of the furniture, games, and decorations had left Sonic Boom to decorate the practice room in their home. Only a few things had been left behind.

Noticing that her father was not downstairs at his normal post behind the counter, Ally flipped her hair over her shoulder before wandering up the stairs. The door to her father's office was closed, the employees only sign barring her entrance. Taking a deep breath, Ally summoned up her courage to knock. After three quick, short breaths, she curled her fingers into a fist and lightly pounded on the wooden door before her. Shuffling footsteps on the other side told Ally that it was too late to leave. It was too late to go home, call Austin back, fall on her knees, crying, and begging for his forgiveness. After he begged for her forgiveness first. Of course. He was after all more at fault than she was. Pushing those intruding thoughts out of her mind, Ally put on a smile so she would appear happy when her father opened the door. Slowly, the door creaked open.

"Ally, Honey!" Lester Dawson exclaimed at the sight of his only daughter, engulfing her small frame into a bone crushing hug.

"Hey Dad," Ally replied without so much conviction as she would have liked to portray as she returned the hug.

Pulling out of the hug, Lester disappeared back inside his office, leaving the door open for Ally to follow him. Scooting back to his desk, the older man fell back into chair, trying to arrange the desk's clutter into organization. Meanwhile, Ally removed the stack of file folders from the nearest chair and dropped them to the floor. The sound breaking the silence with a giant plop. With the obstacles out of her way, Ally took a seat in the chair, grateful to be able to spend some time with her father.

"So how's my favorite son-in-law in doing?" Lester asked.

Only son-in-law, Ally thought to herself, but refused to correct her father out loud. Tricking herself to think about something happy like kittens and second first dates, she plastered a fake smile onto her face. But it was a smile none the less. Hopefully, her father wouldn't catch on.

"He's good," she lied. "I actually just got off the phone with him before I came here." It wasn't a total lie, Ally mused. She had talked to Austin. Alright, so it was more fought with Austin, but her dad didn't need to know that. He didn't need to know about her marital problems. Besides, he loved Austin too much and if divorce was inevitable for her and Austin, Ally was pretty sure the whole ordeal would give her father an aneurism. It would kill her father and give her an incurable broken heart.

She should have known that while trying to avoid any thoughts of Austin, the conversation would turn to him. After all, Lester Dawson had always been a fan of Austin Moon's and a huge supporter of Auslly, even before the complicated mess of becoming an actual couple. While Ally would crush on and go on an occasional date with boys that were not Austin, the over-protective father wished that his daughter would fall for the one guy that he fully approved of-Her best friend. Shaking her head, Ally tried to shift her thoughts to something else, like her grandma's home baked cookies.

"He's coming home next week," she commented as she was unable to concentrate on anything but Austin. He had taken over her mind, just like he had stolen her heart all those years ago.

It was as if hearing the coming close of Austin's tour reminded him of Ally's national tour. "How was your tour, Sweetie?" He asked.

Groaning, Ally tipped her head back to stare at the ceiling as she let out an exasperated sigh.

Reading her body language completely wrong, Lester smiled. "That's great, Honey!"

Rolling her eyes at her father's naivety, Ally thanked God that her father subscribed to _Better Homes and Gardens _and _Family Circle_ than the rag magazines like _Cheetah Beat _and _People. _If he took time reading the garbage in those magazines, it would be impossible to lie. Besides, who wants their father thinking that his own daughter was a cheating whore? Nope, her father was clueless when it came to the drama with Austin and that's how it would stay.

Deciding that she didn't want to stay here and be dragged into working her old shift again, Ally stood up. "I should really go," she said, pointing over her shoulder to the door. "I still have to unpack and-"

Lester stood up and wandered the short distance to his grown daughter and engulfed her in a hug once more. "Okay," he said, his tone indicating that he wished his daughter didn't have to leave so soon. "But your mother wants to see you too before you get so busy." Ally rolled her eyes at that statement. There was no doubt, she loved her parents and liked to spend time with them. However, her career tended to take her farther and farther from the people she loved the most. "So, we're taking you out to dinner tonight. I'll pick you up around 5:30."

Knowing that she couldn't decline the invitation, Ally nodded against her father's chest. "I love you, Dad," she quietly said, not wanting to leave his loving embrace.

**xXx**

Why did her thoughts always go back to Austin? It was if he was her thought's default setting, like the wallpaper on computer's desktop. Every time she promised herself that she would not think of him, she always did. Like the alcoholic or the cutter who promised themselves and others they wouldn't drink or cut anymore, they always did. Austin was her drug and there was no shaking him from her thoughts. So as she dug through the walk in closet, looking for an acceptable dress to wear out to dinner with her parents, Ally didn't even try to think about something else. She knew thoughts of Austin would always plague her.

Sighing, Ally pulled out a flower patterned sun dress and laid it on the edge of the bed as she wandered over to the bathroom to fix her makeup. The clock on the wall read 5:13, nagging the young woman to hurry up. Looking at the clock, Ally rolled her eyes, feeling like a princess who only had until midnight before her fantasy of glamour and princes came crashing to an end. All the same, she touched up her makeup, grateful for the lightness of it. She always had to wear it so much thicker when she was going out on stage. Finally slipping the dress over her head, Ally ran a brush through her curled tresses, tying them back so they stayed out of her face. Satisfied with her look, Ally took a deep breath staring at the picture of her and Austin that resided on her bedside table.

What was happening to them and more importantly could it be stopped?

Before Ally could think any more about the subject, she was interrupted by the sound of knocking on the front door, pulling her out of her thoughts. Rolling her eyes, Ally slipped a cardigan over her shoulders. They had a doorbell. For some reason though, most chose to ignore it. Skipping down the downstairs, Ally grabbed her keys and her purse and rushed to the front door. Pulling the door open, she saw her father standing on the front steps mirroring that of a teenage boy patiently waiting to take his girlfriend out.

"Ready to go?" Lester asked his daughter who only smiled and nodded in response before following him to the same car he drove while she was still a child.

At the restaurant, Ally looked around. While it wasn't a black tie sort of place, the patrons did dress to look nice. Reservations were a must. Her father had said they would meet her mother at the restaurant and Ally found herself eagerly waiting to see her mother. She could tell her mother everything that she needed off her chest and her mother understood and didn't judge. She was yanked back to the present by her father give the name Dawson when he was asked if they had reservations. Feeling eyes on her, Ally looked up to see the maître d staring at her.

"Yes," she replied with a pleasant smile all while inwardly rolling her eyes. "I'm Ally Moon."

The maître d nodded, but didn't say anything, forgetting that being unprofessional could be considered as rude. Ally smiled politely to him and he quickly led them to their table where Penny Dawson was already seated. The maître d was kind and efficient at his job and by the way he kept glancing at her without reason, Ally knew that he was a fan. He was just too enamored by her presence and too shy to say.

"Hi Mom," Ally smiled in greeting as her mother stood to give her a big and welcoming hug.

"How are you?" Penny Dawson asked her daughter in reply.

It wasn't the cliché "how are you" question people ask just to be polite even though they don't really care how you really are doing. Penny's question was sincere and went so much deeper than just asking about Ally's physical wellbeing. Immediately Ally knew that unlike her father, her mother had seen and read the rag magazines and wanted to know that Ally was okay. The simple question of "how are you" was also a way of asking how things were between her and Austin.

Sighing, Ally took a seat at the round table between her mother and her father. That was a good question to ask. It was a question that had Ally stumped as she searched for an answer. She didn't know how things were between her and Austin right now. She just knew things were strained. For all she knew, Austin could be thinking about going back on his promise to sit down and talk when he got home and file for divorce instead. It wouldn't surprise her. If all they could do was fight over the phone, what made them think they could avoid fighting while being face to face? Shaking her head, she told her mother that she didn't know and that she wanted to focus on reading the menu.

Penny understood and didn't push her daughter to say anything, knowing full well that Ally would tell her all when she wanted to.

After ordering and waiting for their food, Lester divulged to Ally about business picking up at Sonic Boom and his desire to hire an employee. Rolling her eyes, Ally knew he was trying to guilt trip her into coming back to work for him. Declining the offer by a simple shake of her head, Ally turned to her attention to her mother who was thinking about writing another book.

However when the food arrived to their table, and they began to eat the delectable meal, conversation seized for a few minutes before it was directed back at Ally. Placing her fork onto the plate, Ally sighed as she looked at her father and then to her mother. She hadn't of been completely honest with her father and for that she felt terrible. Yet, she was afraid to tell them anything, not wanting their pity for her waning marriage. Still, she looked down at the plate of food as if it captivated her attention like an illusionist might as she stalled to answer.

"I think Austin might be filing for divorce," she stated, finding herself unable to stall any longer from answering.

Lester wanted to know why the boy would do a crazy thing like that and Ally didn't blame him. Austin had always been the son he never had.

Penny was more sympathetic to Ally's plight, extending a comforting hand and a listening ear.

Ally wouldn't blame Austin if he filed for divorce. It was after all his choice. While she hadn't cheated, she had wanted to and wasn't that just as bad as actually committing the crime? And if she really loved Austin, would she have wanted to cheat? Closing her eyes, Ally swallowed the foul tasting bile that made its way up. What if she saw Austin again and she realized that she no longer loved him? Then what would she do?


	12. Egos and Exasperation

It was a good thing she was wearing rubber gloves, otherwise her fingers would be raw by now from all the scrubbing she's been doing the past couple of days. To keep her mind clear of any thoughts of Austin, Ally had thrown herself into cleaning the house from top to bottom and bottom to top. Neither crack nor crevice went without seeing a feather duster and disinfectant spray at least once. And while Ally knew all this cleaning was a little over compulsive, she didn't care. The house got clean and thoughts of Austin stayed at bay.

Coughing from the invasion of the strong cleaning chemicals, Ally took the rubber gloves off of her sweaty hands and scratched her itching scalp. Watching the dandruff fall like flurries of snow, the young woman scrunched her nose in disgust. Pulling the collar of her shirt up to her nose, Ally smelled the fabric and winced. While cleaning the house, she'd forgotten to care about her personal hygiene. No longer wanting to be a walking body of dirt and grime and having bigger career ambitions than being the poster child for Suave body wash and shampoo, Ally Decided the house could wait and dropped the rubber gloves and cleaning supplies on the counter in the kitchen. Immediately she ran up the stairs as fast her legs would take her. Upon reaching the master bedroom, she kicked off her slippers and stripped before pulling her hair out of the messy bun that held it. Stepping into the shower, Ally let the gentle spray cascade over her body.

The gentle spray of the shower was quite relaxing for the stressed young woman. Closing her eyes, Ally couldn't help but think back to the thrill she felt whenever she stepped onto stage to see the roaring crowd screaming her name.

"_Ally! Ally! Ally!"_

They screamed her name as loudly as fans screamed Austin's. But they didn't want Austin Moon now. They wanted her. Ally Moon. After all, she was just as talented as Austin was and now she was out of the shadows behind her husband and in the spot light. Nobody wanted Austin anymore. They wanted her and that was a good feeling to have. After years of putting Austin's sky rocketing career first, it was finally time for her to shine. No more half written songs or people only knowing her because of Austin.

Although her body was scrubbed clean, her hair smelling like strawberries, and her fingertips pruned from the water, Ally was finding herself so relaxed and not wanting to leave. Taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes and decided that now was a good time to get out. She's been in there quite a long time, thinking about Austin and her career and who knew how much longer the hot water would last? Cold showers were the least bit pleasant, even during the hottest Miami days. Turning off the shower, Ally was greeted by the sound of Trish's voice echoing throughout the house.

"Guess who's a bigger a pop star than her husband?"

She should really change the locks, Ally mused. These daily occurrences of Trish and/or Dez showing up randomly needed to stop. Especially when Austin got home. They didn't need their goofball friends interrupting the most important conversation they've ever had. Sighing, Ally dried her body off with a towel before wandering to the bedroom to dress.

She found Trish snuggled against the arm rest of the sofa in the living room almost fifteen minutes later. On her lap was her laptop and beside her rested a stack of magazines. Her best friend looked quite content as she surfed the web, absent mindedly drumming the stack of magazines beside her as she waited for the webpage to finish loading. Trish never stated why she was here when she sensed Ally's presence either. Instead, she picked her head up and gazed around the room. Finally, her dark brown eyes rested on Ally who was dressed in a pair of shorts and a cute tank top. Once again, her damp hair was pulled back into a ponytail as she took a seat next to Trish.

"I've never seen this place so clean," the Latina commented with a knowing look in Ally's direction. It had never been a secret that Ally only compulsively cleaned like this when she had a lot on her mind.

Rolling her eyes, Ally picked up a magazine from the stack sitting between her and Trish. "It's been empty for three months," Ally replied. "It needed a good cleaning."

"You realize that when Austin gets home in three days, it's not going to be clean anymore."

Ally rolled her eyes. Of course it wasn't going to be clean once Austin returned home. The man was a slob and still shared month old sandwiches with Dez. She's probably lucky that she hasn't of had to take either one of them to the emergency room for food poisoning yet. Gazing at the magazine cover in her head, but her brain not quite able to register the contents yet, Ally commented:

"Dez isn't a slob."

Trish rolled and pointedly looked at Ally. "That's because he still lives with his parents." Chuckling, Ally nodded in agreement. "Austin on the other hand went straight from having his mom take of care him to a wife. He never learned how to grow up." It was true, the man was in his mid-twenties and he still acted like a child most of the time, especially when Dez was around. The men were goofballs. And as much as Austin's childlike behavior annoyed her, Ally couldn't help but smile at the thought of Austin's crazy antics. It was cute. He was cute.

After punching a few keys on her laptop, Trish set the device in Ally's lap, claiming that she had to see the screen. Rolling her eyes at Trish's exuberance, Ally gazed down at the screen before her and saw that it was open to the official Ally Moon fan site. As always, butterflies danced around Ally's stomach as she read through the reviews. It was always assuring when good reviews are received. Opting to bite her nails instead of her hair, Ally scrolled down the webpage to look at all the new posts. Slowly scrolling, her smile grew bigger at every new sentence she read.

"Oh my God!" she squealed in delight.

"What?" Trish asked, equally excited.

Excitedly, Ally turned the laptop so Trish could see the screen too. Pointing to one certain review in particular, Ally squealed again. "Austin Moon has some serious competition in the form of his wife! Seeing Ally's performance in Los Angeles was such a positive and heartwarming experience! She is such a talented singer and songwriter. If anyone deserves the titles of Pop Princess or the best of this generation, it's her!" Gushing, Ally repeated the review word for word.

Trish pointed at another review farther down the screen. "Look at this one!" She exclaimed, excitedly.

Ally squealed reading the anonymous post. "The world may love Austin Moon, but they love Ally more!"

Excitedly, going through review after review, Ally found that she couldn't contain her excitement anymore. Jumping to her feet, she ran to the kitchen and grabbed the phone off the hook. There was no way she could keep this to herself. She wanted to stand on a mountain top and shout so the world could hear how awesome she was. And maybe that thought wasn't so humble, but she didn't care! They loved her and they wanted more! It was great to have Trish around to bask in the glory with, but Trish didn't understand how she felt. Actually, there was one person she knew that understood how she felt at this very moment. Snuggling back into the sofa, Ally quickly dialed the number from heart.

**xXx**

"Ello?" Austin said, leaving off the H, into the phone, not bothering to glance at the caller I.D. While it's been a few days since his last fight with Ally, Austin found that he had only gotten a couple hours of sleep at most. The beautiful singer and songwriter danced in his head as thoughts of fighting with her kept rushing back, keeping his anger too near, forcing him to lie awake every night. Yet, for his string of last performances over on this continent he found himself wired and wide awake. Caffeine was his new best friend.

Austin didn't even need to ask the identity of the caller. He knew the sweet, chipper voice on the other end well. It was Ally. By the tone of her voice, she must have forgotten about their last fight. If it was still at the forefront of her mind, she wouldn't be calling him. Figuring that they still had a chance to make things right, Austin let out a deep breath in relief.

"Hi Als," He greeted her, using the nickname he had given her long ago.

Ally continued her rant, barely letting him get a word in edgewise. Being a gentleman like his mother tried to raise him to be, Austin listened intently, never interrupting her. He was glad to know that her tour had gone well, earning literally thousands of rave reviews from her fans and critics alike. After all, she deserved all the recognition she could get. She didn't get far as enough recognition as she deserved for writing his songs, so the public recognizing her splendid work was widely accepted and welcome.

However, as her rant continued, Austin's emotions changed from gladness and elation for his wife to that of concern. Ally had never spoken like she was better than him or anybody else before. Well, except while they were guest judges for that widely popular reality show for Moon Week. Forgetting the microphones were on, they accidentally insulted the other judges. But in their defense, the other judges were more off their rockers than a Vietnam War veteran with PTSD. And while she was known to get a little competiveness at times, she was generally the most humbled person he knew. She hardly ever talked about herself either, always caring more about what the other person had to say in a conversation. But now, she talked on and on about herself. If it wasn't for his breathing and his occasional "yeah" or "uh huh" to let her know he was listening, she probably would have forgotten that he was even there listening to her. Reading a few of the most recent interviews she'd given and seeing the photos taken of her, Austin knew that she wasn't camera shy at all. She was comfortable with all of the attention she was receiving and that scared him. Lately, it was as if he didn't even know his wife.

Whatever happened to the shy and maybe a little insecure Ally Dawson he had met and fallen in love with ten years ago? She was as sweet as sugar and as innocent as a rose. She could chew her hair in public and dance ridiculously because she didn't seem to care what other's thought of her. Maybe, except when she was trying to impress a cute boy. Even when people had made fun of her dancing, openly criticizing her, she didn't care. Instead of taking the criticism to heart, she chose to do her own thing. Hence the birth of a widely popular music video to an original song titled, _The Ally Way. _It was almost as if she had been content to be invisible back then, working behind the stage. She was completely content to let him have the spotlight and didn't complain if she wasn't recognized for writing all of his songs. Even though he was good at giving credit to where credit was due. Even after she had gotten over her overwhelming, crippling stage fright, she was content to let him have the spotlight. Austin Moon had always strived on the opinions of others and probably always would, while Ally Dawson had always performed because of her love of music, not to please the crowd. But, she was no longer Ally Dawson. She had dropped the Dawson name and took on the Moon name upon marrying him, claiming that she was his completely and always would be. Taking his name was one of her many ways of showing him how much she loved him. Although she had only changed her name, sometimes it felt like upon abandoning her father's name, she was also abandoning the loveable, dorky little girl she had once been. Not that that mattered to Austin. He loved the beautiful, confident, young woman that that shy, dorky, and adorable girl had grown into.

Yes, he still loved Ally. He always would. While at the time the lyrics were not about them, _Timeless _summed it up well. They were timeless and his love for her would never change.

Taking a deep breath, Austin prepared himself to do what he knew had to be done. "Ally," he said her name calmly and quietly. Upon hearing his voice, she immediately stopped gushing about her fans and the reviews they had given her to listen to what he had to say. At least he didn't have to fight for her attention. He took another deep breath before he continued as he was unsure of how to say what he needed to. Summoning all of the tact that he didn't always possess, Austin continued. "It's like you're letting all this fame get to your head and I don't like it."

**xXx**

What did he know about that anyways? How many times had he let his popularity increase his ego to the point that she barely recognized his caring and loveable personality? At times it felt like she was always deflating his ego just a bit so that he wouldn't change for the worse. Now, he was telling her that he didn't like that people loved her? For once, they loved her. They were screaming her name just like she had always hoped they would.

"You're just mad that people like me more than they like you!" She snapped into the phone. Furious that he would accuse her of being self-absorbed and vain, Ally felt she had nothing more to say to him. And definitely not wanting to hear any of his poor excuses, she took the phone away from her ear, abruptly ending the call. Screaming in frustration, she tossed the phone into the cushions of the sofa. Tears streaming down her face, Ally stomped out of the room, finding her forgotten cleaning supplies from earlier. First, Ally filled the sink with hot water and dish soap before pulling out every single dish from the cupboards.

Worried about her best friend, Trish followed Ally to the kitchen, watching the distressed woman vigorously scrub the clean dishes so they shone. Stepping beside Ally, Trish laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Just say the word and he's dead," she joked, hoping to lighten Ally's gloomy mood. However, Ally didn't say anything reply. She just kept scrubbing away until the dishes shone so they could be used as a mirror. Occasionally, her tears would become too great to see through, and Ally would use the back of her hand to wipe them away before continuing on with her mundane task. Grabbing the clean plate from Ally's grasp, Trish held it up, using it as a mirror as she fluffed the back of her hair. "Wow," she commented with an amused smile, hoping to pull Ally out of her mood. "These dishes look to good to eat off of! Seriously Ally, this is plate makes a better mirror than the one hanging in my bedroom!" Angrily, Ally dropped her hands into the hot soapy water, causing water to splash everywhere. Feeling droplets of water soak through her clothing, Trish leaped back in surprise. "Whoa there, Ally!" she exclaimed. "I'm already clean."

Finding that she couldn't see through the millions of blinding tears, Ally dried her right hand on her pants before dragging it across her face to wipe the intruding tears away. Able to see again, her hands went back to the water to continue to wash the dishes. New tears sprung to the surface and streamed down her face like rain on a car window. The more she thought about Austin and his insulting words, the more Ally scrubbed the dishes to perfection. Normally, cleaning helped keep any unwanted thoughts at bay. Now, it did no such thing.

Her hands were soaked and dripping as was the plate in her grasp, but she didn't think her fingers had completely turned to butter. Before she could set the plate into the rinsing water, the plate fell from her butter fingers and smashed into dozens of sharp pieces on the linoleum. Slamming the dishrag into the water so that it splashed even more soapy water around the area, Ally dropped to her knees to pick the pieces up. Deciding that it was probably best to help her upset friend out, Trish left to grab the broom to clean up the mess, leaving a sobbing Ally to herself. Pulling the garbage can out from underneath the sink, one by one, Ally began to clean the mess up. Cutting the soft flesh of her palm on a sharp piece of the broken glass, Ally cried out in pain as she fell backwards onto her butt, repositioning herself so that her knees came up to her chin. The blood seemed to just ooze from the wound, falling into a puddle on the flooring. Knowing she had to take care of the wound and stop the bleeding, but not wanting to trail more blood across the floor, Ally opted to stay where she was. Besides, she was too upset right now to care. More sobs racked her body, as she rested her head back on the cupboards behind her.

Coming back into the kitchen, Trish saw that her friend was an absolute mess. And knowing that jokes wouldn't cheer Ally up, Trish for once kept her mouth shut. Leaning the broom and dust pan against the counter, Trish ripped some paper towel off of the roll and knelt down beside her friend. "Oh Ally," she sighed, handing the paper towel to the crying woman. Grateful, Ally took the offered towel and wadded it up before pressing it to her wound to stop the bleeding. With Ally holding the now bloody towel to her wound, Trish helped her to her feet. Slowly, Ally retreated from the kitchen and upstairs to the bathroom to clean and bandage the wound. Once Ally's slumped body was out of sight, Trish cleaned up the rest of the glass and the pool of blood for her friend.

Trish didn't know when or how, but this whole mess with Austin had to end. She couldn't stand seeing her best friend hurting so much.

**xXx**

Hearing nothing but dead silence, Austin pulled the phone away from his ear and glanced at the screen. She had hung up on him. Groaning from his own stupidity, Austin dropped the phone, not caring where it landed so he could cover his face with his hands. What was he going to do now if she wouldn't even listen to what he had to say? Rubbing his hands over his face, Austin hoped the action would make him feel better. But it didn't. Sighing, he couldn't help but think back on their relationship. It had always been so easy. Even though Ally may have hated him at first for stealing her song, it hadn't taken him long to earn her forgiveness and her trust. As friends they hardly ever fought. The biggest arguments they'd ever gotten in then was him pressuring her to write him another song so people would stop mistaking him for the dog food guy. Very rarely had they disagreed on lyrics for a song since Ally knew him and what he liked. Things had been difficult the first time they tried dating as they were too afraid to hurt each other's feelings. But stepping back from being lovers to best friends, they were able to get to know each other better and let their feelings mature. When they tried dating again, things were still a little difficult at times, but easier. Through the whirlwind courtship and engagement things had mostly been positive with only a few bumps along the road. Even at the beginning of their marriage, everything was perfect. It was like those cliché fairytale endings, and they lived happily ever after. That's how Austin felt after he married Ally. However, the happily ever after obviously wasn't meant to last forever. But where had things started to go so wrong between them and why hadn't they of bothered to notice their derailing relationship sooner?

Dez wasn't stupid. He knew when fighting with Ally was slowly tearing Austin apart and eating away at his soul. While his energetic performances gave him an unmeasurable high that no drug could give him, off stage, Austin was absolutely miserable from fighting with Ally. Wishing that everything would work out in Austin's favor, Dez wanted nothing more than to hug his best friend and tell him that everything would be alright. Maybe that sounded a little girlie and much like a chick flick moment, but he didn't care. Austin needed him. Fighting with Ally wasn't only taking its toll on Austin, it was taking a toll on those close to the couple as well. All Dez knew was that the intense fighting needed to stop.

"Come on," he said, grabbing Austin's wrist, trying to pull him outside the tour bus. "I'm sure they've got an IHOP or someplace that sells pancakes around here," he commented.

Gloomily, Austin pulled his wrist out of Dez's grip and walked away. "I don't want any," he mumbled.

It was rare that Austin ever turned down pancakes. Sighing, Dez's shoulders slumped as he watched the depressed form of his retreating friend. He didn't know what, but something had to change between him and Ally. And while Austin didn't want to divorce Ally, maybe divorce was the best thing for them?


	13. Home Again

"I'm going home and I'm coming to you, chasing the beat of my heart…."

Dez thumped his head against the small window of the airplane for what seemed like the millionth time that night. Ever since closing his last concert with that particular song a few short hours ago, Austin's been singing it nonstop. For Dez, it was as if someone hit repeat instead of shuffle on his iPod, only he couldn't stop the song and skip to the next song. There was no other song and there was no pause button. Yet how could he be annoyed at Austin for singing the only song that came to his mind, especially since the only thought on his mind was going home to Ally?

"You and I….Together again…."

Austin kept his eyes glued shut most of the time, only focusing on the picture of Ally that his mind drew up for him to enjoy. He knew that Dez, the other passengers, and the flight attendants were probably going crazy from his constant singing, but he didn't care. After being away from Ally for about one hundred consecutive days, he was finally going home to her. Nothing was stopping him from going home, grabbing Ally, kissing her senseless, and then kissing her senseless again after she slapped him. Oh, he was a fool in love, but he didn't care. Somehow, he had to show Ally just how much he still loved her, how far he was willing to go just to save their rocky marriage. Tapping his foot along to the beat of the song and racking his brain, Austin was positive that he had the most perfect solution to do just that.

**xXx**

As much as she loved having clean clothes to wear, she hated doing laundry. Sighing, she folded the jeans and stacked them on top of the dryer along with the other clean clothes ready to be put away in a chest of drawers. Her eyes darted to the wall clock. Her brain registering the exact time, Ally bent over, leaning on the washing machine and the clothes dryer. She should be leaving for the airport to pick Austin up right now. She should, but she wasn't, a recent conversation with her mother-in-law flooding back into her memory.

"Mimi, can you pick Austin up from the airport?"

"Of course, Darling, but don't you want to?"

No. She didn't want to pick him up from the airport, that's why she was pawning that responsibility off on the man in question's mother. "I'll be at the studio and I don't want to make Austin wait at the airport." She hated lying to her mother-in-law, but she didn't want to answer the agonizingly painful questions she'd be exposed to if she told the truth.

Mimi Moon had accepted her excuse without question.

Just thinking back on that conversation had Ally's mind reeling. If she refused to not even pick her husband up from the airport just to avoid seeing him for a few minutes longer, how did they expect to sit down and talk when he did get home? Besides, knowing the fact that she pawned him off on his own mother would probably make him mad. She knew for a fact that he wouldn't buy any lame excuse that she'd given. God, she was a terrible wife, wishing that his tour wasn't over so soon. Just because she didn't know what to say or do once she saw him again.

She absolutely hated situations like this; the kind of situations that she had absolute no control over. Because, Ally Moon like having control over any and all aspects of her life, like any sane person would. Ally didn't need anyone to tell her that her problem was that she thought too much. She knew that already. While Austin seemed to be able to go with flow, Ally found herself obsessing over every possible outcome for every situation. Literally, she tormented herself with these obsessive thoughts as she lay awake most nights. How, she wished she didn't over analyze everything. Austin and Dez didn't seem to overanalyze anything in life and they seemed blissfully ignorant. Why couldn't she be like that? Oh yeah, because unlike Dez, she actually had things to think about.

Finding the strength to continue the mundane task, Ally stretched before standing to her full height.

"Are you ready yet?" Trish's voice exclaimed throughout the house.

Sighing, Ally laid down the current item of clothing in her hands on top of the dryer and left the tiny laundry room at the back of the house. Trish was standing in the middle of the hallway with her hands on her hips. Scrutinizing eyes looked Ally's current appearance up and down, disapprovingly.

"You're going to pick your husband, whom you have not seen in three months, up in bedroom slippers and athletic shorts?" Trish snorted. Groaning, Ally remembered that she had forgotten to tell Trish that they weren't going to be the ones picking the boys up from the airport. "I know things aren't great between you right now, but I still doubt you'll be getting any sleep tonight, so you might as well try to be a little sexy for your man."

Ally rolled her eyes at her friend's statement. "Why?" She questioned with a shrug of her shoulders before disappearing back to the tiny room to finish her current task. "Mimi's picking him up."

"Mimi?" Trish asked, following Ally's lead, "Mimi Moon, as in his mother?"

"Yes, his mother his picking him up," Ally replied, picking up the forgotten t-shirt that lay on the dryer. "If you'll excuse me, I have work to do." Her last comment was snippier than she meant it to be, and she instantly regretted it when she heard an unidentifiable mumble from Trish before the short woman left without another word. Sighing, Ally left the rest of the clothes in the dryer. Who cares if they were a little wrinkled later on? Right now, she had more important things on her mind.

**xXx**

"Please Trish," Austin begged into the phone. "All you have to do is tell me what kind of mood Ally's in and I will not only give you a raise, but I will also give you all of the Swiss chocolate in my suitcase." Austin shuddered at the thought. Trish was lazy, incompetent most of the time, the world's worst manager and should only get a raise when Hell froze over, but Austin was out of ideas to charm the wily Latina. Giving her his chocolate was almost as bad as giving her a raise too, Austin mused. The Swiss made good chocolate.

"Fine," he heard the girl sigh into the phone. "I should kill you for hurting her, but I don't want to see you two divorced." Austin silently cheered that Trish was on his side. He may have remained silent, but his silly actions spoke in volumes as he danced around, fist pumping the air. "Look, if I were you, I'd come home with a dozen roses, a gallon of fruity mint swirl, and one large jar of her favorite pickles."

He had no doubt that the largest jar he could find of her favorite pickles would do the trick. However, he had something better in mind. And so, thanking his friend, he hung up.

Dez was standing on his toes, not that he needed the extra height as he kept an eye out for Austin's parents. Crossing his arms over his chest, he shook the mop of red hair on his head. "Man, I can't believe Ally's at the studio the exact same time as our plane lands," he commented.

"She's not at the studio," Austin replied with his own shake of the head as he looked around the sea of strangers, trying to find at least one familiar face. "She just doesn't want to see me."

There wasn't any more singing about anticipating going home to Ally anymore. Not since, he received a call from his mother saying that Ally was at the studio and wouldn't be able to pick him up when they landed in Miami. Unfortunately, Austin knew Ally well enough to know that wouldn't be able simply meant, wouldn't. Ally was still one of the world's worst liars in the flesh. However, over the phone, it was as easy as singing the alphabet for her to mask her true thoughts and feelings. It was almost funny how that works.

Almost.

Because if it was funny, he wouldn't have a broken heart right now and Ally would be running towards him with an extensive smile on her face instead of his parents.

Still, he was happy to see his parents and he was happy to be home.

"Mom!" he exclaimed, running into her arms, never wanting to leave. To know a mother's love was one of the greatest treasures one could cherish, no matter how old they became. And Austin wasn't a child anymore, he was a man full grown. Yet, he still clung to her as if he were a frightened child; he was just glad to see her.

Although Mimi didn't understand the full meaning behind her son's actions, she guessed they had something to do with Ally. Austin may have been a son who cared for and respected his mother, but he gave up hugging her in public before he reached the messed up teenage years. But, the older woman didn't complain as she embraced her son.

"Well, are you boys ready to go?" Mimi asked, now draping an arm around Austin's shoulders.

Nodding enthusiastically, Dez hoisted his suitcase up and into Mike Moon's arms. "That is really heavy," he said, "Thanks for offering to carry it."

Although Mike shared knowing looks with his wife and son, he didn't drop Dez's luggage. The boy was crazy, but he was the brother Austin never had and that made him like family.

"Uh Dad," Austin said just as they finished loading the last of the luggage in the trunk of his parent's car. "Can we make a quick stop at the mall? There's something I need to get before I go home."

Mike didn't say anything in response to his son's question. Instead, he nodded, full well aware of what the boy was up to. Austin Moon had never been difficult to figure out. While he was terrible at communicating his feelings, he wore his emotions on his sleeve for the world to see. Whatever was on his mind right now had something to do with Ally.

Austin was almost mesmerized by all of the different flowers in the flower shop. Granted that he's been there before on countless occasions, finding the perfect bouquet for Ally. Yet this wasn't the cliché, "Happy Valentine's Day, Baby," bouquet he gave her every February with a box of Dove chocolate. No, this visit was for a completely different reason. Also this visit turned out to be a great deal more expensive than the previous ones.

Because nobody in their right mind goes into a flower shop asking for 12 dozen red roses. A dozen sure, but never 12 dozen. The middle-aged store manager eyed him questionably, wondering if he was completely sane asking for 144 roses. The teenager girl behind the counter wouldn't stop drooling as she wished that Austin Moon was buying roses for her and not the luckiest woman alive. Because really, it was a known fact that there were only two woman Austin Moon bought flowers for-his wife and his mom.

"I need them in this vase," Austin just shrugged, ignoring the looks he was given as he placed a vase on top of the counter. He could feel his parents' eyes on him as he stepped over to the gift section of the store, browsing through the items. Smiling, he grabbed a stuffed animal off the shelf and carried back to the counter. "And this goose named Pickles."

The employees of the garden and gift shop continued to watch him with questioning glances. Bailey, the teenager's name tag read, Austin noticed as he watched her ring up his total purchase. Just the flowers alone cost him near five and half hundred dollars. It was a good thing he was a sensational pop star and not a fool in love.

Though he was a fool in love too.

"I found it!" Dez's voice exclaimed out of breath as he ran through the front door of the air conditioned building.

"The flower?" Austin asked as he turned around after placing his credit card on the counter to pay for his purchase.

"That too," Dez announced coming to a halt by the confused Moons. "But, I found fruit snacks shaped like your head!" he exclaimed, opening a package of fruit snacks.

"Cool!" Austin exclaimed, grabbing a purple snack from Dez's palm and popping the delectable treat into his mouth. "I'm a fruit snack!"

Once they had finished off the package of fruit snacks, Dez pulled out a rose and handed it to Austin. However, this one was fake. Wiping his brow, he let out an exasperated sigh. "Do you know how many different craft stores I've gone to just find this?" He asked. "Wal-Mart, Michael's, Hobby Lobby, Annie's Art-o-rama, Craft Cacophony, Craftbukkit, I even went to Craftsman."

"Craftsman is a tool company," the blonde teenager, Bailey, pointed out.

Dez shrugged, choosing to ignore her as he pulled out another package of Austin Moon fruit snacks.

When everything was paid for and assembled, Austin turned to his mother. "Mom, do you have a pen I can borrow?"

**xXx**

Ally pouted her lips into a frown as she dug through her rather vast nail polish collection, wanting to choose just the perfect color. Squinting one eye closed, she grabbed one container of nail polish and held it up to the light. Then, she placed it back with the others. After repeating this process for a few other colors, the young woman finally decided on a deep red color. Twisting the cover off, she gracefully brushed a coat of the polish over each of her toe nails. However, the stillness and the calmness she felt as she basked in the peace of the empty house was soon disturbed.

_Clamor, Clamor, Bang, Bang, Boom, Boom._

Alarmed, Ally shot to her feet, forgetting about the nail polish. Steadying the bottle, so it didn't spill onto the carpet, she sighed before bounding down the hall and down the stairs. When she was about half way, she slowed down as she realized the source of the noise. There stumbling through the front door was Austin Moon. Suitcases and flowers in hand. His suitcases fell from his grasp after he kicked the door shut behind him. And while he may have been graceful on the dance floor, he was anything but graceful on his feet now as he accidentally bumped the wall, sending priceless decorations crashing to the floor. Rolling her eyes at his clumsiness, Ally turned around to go back upstairs to resume the task of painting her nails. However, before she could disappear, she felt a hand on her wrist before she was being yanked down the stairs and all the way to the basement without a word.

"What?" Ally asked when she saw Austin lock the door behind them, blocking their exit until this all important conversation was completed. "I don't get a kiss? A hi Honey, how was tour? Not even, Honey, I'm home!"

Austin chuckled at her comment. She had no idea how badly he wanted to kiss her right now, but he would practice self-control and wouldn't until he knew where she stood on making their marriage work. Yes, they had both agreed, but that seemed like an eternity ago and both of them were well known to change their minds. So, suppressing the urge to lock his lips with hers, Austin grabbed her hand and led her over to the futon at the back of the room. However, Austin didn't sit down. Instead, he let Ally take a seat, tucking her feet under her as she did so. Then, when Ally was comfortable, he wheeled a chair over to her and sat down, crossing his legs Indian style as if he were a child.

Ally wouldn't hardly look at him as she kept her eyes downcast. Taking a deep breath, she tucked her hair behind her ears, wishing the awkwardness would disintegrate between them so they could just get this out. But as long as the awkward silence remained, both would be a little on edge. "Austin, I-" Unfortunately, whatever she was going to say was forgotten as he had spoken at the exact same time as she had. Clamping her mouth shut as if a vise grip was used to keep her lips sealed, Ally beckoned Austin to speak first.

"I still love you, Ally," Austin stated, folding his hands so the temptation to fiddle with something would vanish. "More than anything."

Ally's breath hitched, hearing Austin's confession. She knew that he still loved her, that was never any secret. Just observing his behavior, Ally knew that he was completely serious and committed to making things work between them. Trying to speak, Ally found her throat severely dry. Unable to speak, she nodded her head. She had been afraid that she would discover that she no longer loved him. Actually, she was still afraid of that. Unfortunately upon seeing him again, her feelings hadn't of been as clear as she would have hoped they'd be.

"I don't want a divorce," Austin admitted, sounding much like a scared child.

Ally shook her head at his statement. "Me neither," she managed to choke out in a whisper. Realizing that she couldn't continue this conversation unless she had something to drink, Ally stood up and walked the few short feet to the mini fridge. Pulling it open, she let the cold air wash over, calming her nerves as she searched for her quarry. Grabbing a bottled water, she turned around and held it out to Austin. "Want one?" she asked. The blond man shook his head in reply. Shrugging her shoulders, Ally let the door slam shut behind her as she made her way back to her seat.

Letting out a deep breath, Austin searched his brain, trying to find the right words to say next. Agreeing that neither one of them wanted a divorce was a good start, but the conversation was far from over. Unsure of what to say next, he opted to watch his beautiful wife, place the bottle to her lips as she took a sip of the cool liquid inside.

Catching Austin looking at her, Ally seemed to know what he was thinking. Twisting the cap back on her water, she sighed as she placed the bottle on the floor next to her feet. "I want to talk about the whole 'Jason thing'," she said, trying to choose her words carefully.

Rolling his eyes, Austin spat back rather sarcastically, "Oh, is that his name?"

Maybe his snarky retort would make Ally realize that he didn't want to want to talk about that. What good would it be to bring up the past anyways? Talking about it wouldn't change the hurt he felt when he thought she was cheating, or the hurt he felt when she confessed that she wanted to. Talking about it was useless, and so he wished that she would stop unburying the dead.

"Austin," she sighed. "We need to talk about it."

"I don't want to!" he snapped, covering his ears like an immature child to block out her voice.

Maybe the dead wasn't so buried as he had first thought. If it was buried, he wouldn't have a problem discussing it with her, because he would know that she no longer harbored any feelings for that guy. He couldn't bring himself to say the name, Jason. He wouldn't. The name Austin should be the first and the only name she thinks of in terms of being romantically involved with a man.

"Austin!" she yelled his name to grab his attention, shooting to her feet. Although her tone also sounded a bit exasperated. Taking a deep breath, Ally counted backwards from five in her head. Not even a single muscle twitched as she did so. Calmly, she stepped forward so she was standing directly in front of him. Taking his hands away from his ears so that he had no choice but to listen to her, Ally pulled him to his feet, still holding his hands. "We need to talk about this," she stated. Her voice was smooth, slow, and calm. "If we don't, we might as well just give up trying to save our marriage right now."

Austin's voice was a low mumble of agreement. "Fine," he said, barely loud enough for Ally to hear. Though, he only agreed because he didn't want to lose her, not because he wanted to touch that subject.

Sighing in relief, Ally looked down at their joined hands and stroked his hands with her thumbs. Then, raising her gaze to meet his, she asked, "What did you feel when you read that _Cheetah Beat_ article or when I told you that I wanted to cheat?"

Averting his gaze from hers, Austin ducked his head away. "You know how I felt," he whispered. How he still felt. That pain was still too near for him.

Ally wasn't sure if he was embarrassed to talk about his feelings or what his action symbolized. Dropping his left hand, Ally's snaked its way upwards to stroke his cheek, scratching herself on his light stubble of facial hair that he would shave off in the morning. This action of hers caused Austin to look back towards her. Yet, he still did not meet her gaze. "No, I don't know Austin," she stated. This confession caused his hazel colored eyes to meet with her chocolate colored ones. Having his eye contact, Ally continued to stroke his cheek. "Please tell me," she whispered.

Nuzzling closer to her touch, Austin sighed, trying to make sense of his jumbled emotions in his head before he conveyed them to Ally. "I don't know," he sighed again.

"Yes, you do," Ally gently coaxed him, not once stopping the soothing strokes on his cheek.

"I was so mad at you," He said after a long pause of silence. "I was so mad that I hated you."

"You were hurt," Ally nodded in understanding.

"Yeah," Austin agreed. "I was hurt and I-I-"

"You felt betrayed," Ally offered.

"And jealous," Austin muttered, dropping his gaze again and Ally knew he felt embarrassed for being jealous. "I was so jealous that I wanted to break both of his arms, just so he couldn't impress you."

Ally sighed again. She couldn't blame Austin for feeling those feelings. His emotions then were justified, unlike her behavior. Embarrassed, she pulled away from him so she could curl herself up into a ball on the futon.

Perplexed by her current behavior, Austin followed her over to the futon and took a seat close to her. Reaching his hand out in a comforting manner, he rubbed her bare ankle. "What is it?" he asked quietly, almost in a whisper.

"You had a right to be jealous and feel betrayed," Ally replied, sniffling back a sob. Aware that she was going to cry, Austin tugged on her arm, pulling her into his arms. However, Ally pulled away from him again. "Don't touch me," she said, feeling that she was unworthy of being comforted by him. She could comfort him; he wasn't at fault. She was though. "I wanted to cheat on you," she admitted. And even though she never physically crossed that line, it still made her feel like a whore. "I really did." Hearing this confession in person caused Austin's body to go as stiff as a two-by-four. But, Ally didn't seem to notice as she continued to speak. "I met him the same day you left on tour," she admitted. "He insulted my music." This memory caused her to giggle a little bit. Hearing her giggle at the memory caused Austin's body grew even more ridged. "You weren't around and even before our tours, you weren't around. We've been growing apart for a long time and neither of us wanted to admit it."

There was nothing Austin wanted more than to jump in and deny that claim. Yet, she had listened to his feelings without argument or complaint. So instead, he repositioned himself so he was tightly gripping the fabric of the futon's cushion as if that could stop him from shooting into the air like a rocket.

"He was attentive and I wanted to be reminded of that feeling of being wanted by a man again." She took several deep breaths before she continued. "I wondered what it would be like to be loved by him," she said without denying it anything. "I never crossed the line though."

"And now?"

She didn't have to ask what he meant by his question because she already knew what he meant. He was asking her how she felt now. Taking one more deep breath to give her the strength she needed, she turned to face him. The eye contact between them would prove to him that she was telling him nothing but the truth. "I don't want to know anymore," she replied.

"You don't?"

The only answer she gave him was a shake of her head.

"Why?"

Taking his hand in hers once again, Ally scooted closer to him. "Because I still love you and I don't want to hurt you like that again," she replied, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. It was true. Upon hearing the hurt in his voice was he told her his feelings and seeing the hurt etched across his face was enough to realize that she could never hurt him like that again because she loved him and hurting him would only hurt her.

That's all Austin wanted to hear her say as if he needed the confirmation that she did love him. And maybe he did as he had been unsure of how she felt for the longest time now. But that didn't matter anymore. She still loved him and he still loved her. So, he did the only thing he found acceptable at a time like this. Cupping her cheeks, he leaned in forcefully crashing his lips to hers, eliciting a quiet and pleasurable moan from her. It wasn't long until she pulled away from his kiss, gasping for air. So, instead, he worked on planting kisses along her jaw and neck line.

"Austin," she whispered his name, but he kept up his ministrations on her neck. "Austin," she said his name more forcefully. "Austin, stop!" she exclaimed in an authoritative tone.

"What?" Austin smirked, kissing her lips again. "You don't like kissing me?"

Rolling her eyes, Ally mumbled, "Don't get your panties in a twist."

Austin smirked again, placing yet another kiss on her lips. "I don't wear panties," he stated rather smugly.

"It's a figure of speech," Ally replied as she pulled away from him. Standing up, she grabbed her water and took the seat Austin had occupied earlier. Guzzling the water, she calmed her racing thoughts and suppressed the urge to rip his shirt off of him. Twisting the cap back on the bottle, Ally held it in her hands as if having an object to fidget with calmed her. Taking a deep breath, she told him with a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "You can have your wicked way with me once this conversations is over."

That was promise that was going to be kept, Austin mused. Smirking, he asked, "Is it over yet?"

"Austin!"

Okay, maybe that wasn't quite as funny as he originally thought it'd be. Growing serious, Austin turned so he was once again facing her. "Okay," he sighed. "What else do we need to talk about it?"

"Do we finally have this whole cheating thing behind us?" Ally asked quietly.

Did they? They had finally sat down and discussed their feelings. Both had been hurt by it and they wanted nothing more than to move forward in their relationship. Now that he knew her feelings, Austin realized that he wasn't so hurt by the subject anymore. Nodding his head, he replied with, "yes." The dead was buried along with the hatchet. Maybe now they could move forward.

Ally smiled, nodding her own head. "Good," she replied before letting silence reconvene between them. This silence however, wasn't awkward as they were both contently lost in their thoughts as they tried to find something to say. Eventually, Ally spoke again, sharing her thoughts with Austin. "We need to think of what to do," she said, earning Austin's full attention. "I don't ever want us to grow apart like that again," she stated, earning Austin's full approval of agreement.

"So what should we do?" He asked in reply.

Ally set the bottled water back down on the ground next to her feet. "I don't know," she admitted. "What did we do before to make things work?"

Austin leaned back into the futon's cushion as he searched his brain for the answer. Pushing his blond hair back that had grown a little longer since she'd last seen him, Austin sighed. "Well," he drawled out in thought. "We always spent a lot of time together, just hanging out. And we never got mad at each other, because we listened to what the other wanted. We weren't physical either."

Ally nodded in agreement. They didn't become physically active in their relationship until after they were married. Sex didn't matter to them. Back when they were still dating, they just hung out like the best friends they had always been except for the cuddling and occasional hand holding and kissing.

"I think if we spend more time together like we used to without any expectations," Austin continued, "we'll be okay."

"And we should try listening to each other's feelings more," Ally added. "That way maybe we won't see the need to argue to get our points across."

"Yeah," Austin nodded.

Ally sighed. "I think we should take a break from our careers and spend less time at the studio while we try to figure out where 'us' is going," she stated. "If we don't, I fear that we'll continue to be stuck in this rut."

Relieved to know that they had a plan to work on their marriage, Austin leaned forward in his seat, his hands resting on his knees as he waited for Ally to continue speaking. But, she never did. "Is the conversation over?" he asked.

Rolling her eyes, Ally replied, "You're such a guy."

Smirking, Austin stood and rushed over to where she was. Crashing his lips back onto hers, he straddled her. "I'm taking that as a yes," he breathed before passionately kissing her again.


	14. Pickles and Pancakes

"Five more minutes, Mom," Austin moaned in his sleep, rolling over in the bed to ignore the woman trying to shake him awake.

Frowning, Ally let out an exasperated sigh as she reevaluated her game plan to pull him from his vacation in dream land. With his back to her, Ally smirked as she crawled closer to him. Hovering over him, she flipped her long hair over her shoulder before carefully placing soft kisses on the side of his face. "Would your mother wake you up like this?" She purred into his ear, sounding like a content house cat. Her ministrations on his face and neck resumed.

Again, Austin rolled over. This time he rolled onto his stomach, burying his face into the sheets as he covered his head with his pillow. "Is it noon yet?" He moaned into the pillow, muffling his words.

His sudden, abrupt movements surprised Ally, sending her tumbling over his lean body and off the bed. Landing in a heap on the floor, Ally huffed, pushing her hair out of her face once again. Back on her feet, she crossed her arms over her chest, impatiently tapping her foot as she thought of another fool proof plan to get him out of bed. Rolling her eyes at his stupid question, Ally mentally chastised herself for not thinking this mission through better. Austin was a heavy sleeper and even though he was in his mid-twenties, his sleep schedule was still that of a teenager's. On the days he didn't have to be up, he would sleep until noon and the days he did have to get up, he'd complain about being up so early. Glancing at the alarm clock on the bedside table, Ally noticed that it wasn't so early anymore. It was going on 9:30. Shrugging, but keeping her arms crossed, she wandered towards the door to leave the room.

"Well since you're not going to get up," she said, stopping in the doorway to look back over her shoulder at him. "I guess I'll just forget about making pancakes then." She smiled to herself, when she heard the rustling of the bed sheets behind her.

"You're making pancakes?!" Austin's voice squealed in delight, with absolutely no trace of sleepiness at all.

Rolling her eyes at his remark, Ally turned back around and sauntered over to him. Standing on her toes, she pressed a chaste peck to his lips. "Go shower and I'll make breakfast," she replied in answer to him.

Smirking, Austin's hands found her hips and he pulled her small, trim body closer to his muscular one. "Or you could shower with me," He commented with a coy smile.

"Nice try, Mr. Moon," she replied with her own smirk, "but I've been showered and dressed for three hours already."

Austin rolled his eyes at her statement. Of course she'd been up for three hours. Ally had never been the kind to dawdle and waste the day away by lying in bed. His smirk never left his face as he replied with, "Well, Mrs. Moon, you wouldn't have to shower alone and be bored all morning if you snuggled with your husband more."

Rolling her eyes once more at his statement, Ally stood on her toes once more to kiss him again. Pulling out of his grasp, she turned and walked away. When she was almost out the bedroom door, she called back to him mirthfully. "I just might have to! You're such a blanket hog!"

Hearing the cascading of a water fall coming from the bathroom, Ally knew that Austin was indeed showering. Keeping good to her promise, she walked downstairs, ready to begin preparing breakfast for him. However, before she good disappear into the kitchen, she was met by the voluminous bouquet of roses still sitting on the coffee table where Austin had set them when he first arrived home from his tour. Though in that time, she hadn't really paid much attention to them. Glancing back towards the stairs, Ally knew that Austin wouldn't be out of the shower for at least another half an hour. Smiling, she plucked a random rose from the vase and closing her eyes, held it to her nose. However, no beautiful scent wafted to her nose. Surprised, Ally's eyes popped open as she inspected the beautiful flower. Immediately, she knew it was fake. Rolling her eyes at Austin's inadequacy to buy all real flowers, Ally was set to cast the infuriating flower aside. That was until a note card attached to the stem caught her eye. Yanking it off to read it, she placed the rose aside.

In Austin's quick, messy, scrawl read, _Dear Ally,_ _There are exactly 145 roses here. Each rose signifies exactly how many hours I spent thinking about you while we were apart. Okay, that's not exactly true, because if it was there would be a lot more roses here. In fact there are only 145 roses here because the flower and gift shop didn't have any more than that in stock. My point is, you are always on my mind while we're apart. And if you've already figured it out, this rose is fake. The rose is fake and it is a prime example of my love for you. Not that my love for you is fake! What I mean is that this rose cannot die. Like the flower, my love for you will never die. Okay, this note is officially a hundred times longer than I intended it to be and I should stop rambling like you always tend to do. I love you Allyson Moon and I always will. So, does Pickles the goose. But, since I don't know what happened to the real Pickles, this stuffed goose named Pickles will have to do. _

A smile graced Ally's lips as she reread Austin's message for the second time. Setting the note aside, she picked up the stuffed animal sitting beside the vase and squeezed it to her chest. Then, still holding the goose, she wandered into the kitchen where she perched the toy on the island to watch her as she gathered the ingredients for the pancakes. Humming to herself, she began pouring the mix into a large mixing bowl when the singing of the doorbell resonating throughout the house pulled her from her reverie of thoughts. Leaving breakfast forgotten, Ally left the kitchen and wandered back to the living room to answer the door, surprised to already have visitors. She knew for a fact that it wasn't Dez or Trish. They never used the doorbell, opting to just walk inside to announce their presence. Curious, Ally stood on her tiptoes to look through the peep hole.

"Jason!" she exclaimed, throwing open the door in surprise to see him. And it was indeed a surprise to see him standing on the front steps of her Miami home. When she had told him that she was married and had no intentions of leaving her husband while she was still out on tour, she had meant it and doubted that she would see him again even though they had agreed to be friends. Yet, here he was, standing proud on her front steps and Ally couldn't help but remember why he had enamored her so. But what was he doing here? And how did he get her home address?

There was a dilemma.

Ally knew for a fact that Austin would become insanely jealous and not take too kindly to Jason's presence. But, Jason was her friend and she couldn't be rude to him, asking him to leave the premises.

Closing her eyes tight shut, the shocked woman too three long, deep breaths as she wished this nightmare to be over. Opening her eyes, she asked, "How did you even get my address?"

"Trish."

Rolling her eyes at his comment, Ally realized that she should have known Trish would have been the culprit. Knowing that she shouldn't be rude to him and curious to know why he was there, Ally stepped aside, inviting him to enter the house. "Come in," she beckoned. Closing the door behind him, Ally prayed that she hadn't of made a mistake by inviting him inside.

Like everyone in a new habitat, Jason looked around in awe as he took in his new surroundings. Ally's eyes also wandered around her modest home. While most celebrities chose to live in extravagant, 20 million dollar homes, Austin and Ally had chosen to buy a small, modest two story home in a quiet, residential part of Miami. Of course, this was Ally's doing, not wanting to forget her roots to a simple spotlight free life. Austin had wanted the largest mansion in history complete with a Jacuzzi, a mini golf course and a movie theater. Because who doesn't want to watch Zaliens on the big screen all the time? Because they had two different preferences like in everything, Austin and Ally decided to compromise. They would live in a quiet neighborhood with a modest home. However, Austin got to pick out some of the furnishings. That is why they had to remodel their bathroom to fit in a Jacuzzi. Their comprise was also evident by the entertainment center in the otherwise modest living room sporting a Sharp 90-inch LED Backlit LCD TV with an assortment of different gaming consoles and movie players with vast selections of movies and games.

Jason's eyes seemed to light up like a child's at Christmas upon setting eyes on the entertainment center. "You play?" He asked.

Wandering back to the kitchen to resume making breakfast for Austin, Ally replied:

"Music? Yes. Video games? No."

She sucked at any and all types of video games and refused to play whenever Austin tried to drag her into playing his latest game with him. She instead much preferred to play a good old fashioned board game, like Monopoly, than play video games which easily rotted one's brain cells.

"That's all Austin's."

"I'm making breakfast," Ally said once Jason found his way into the kitchen after being mesmerized by the assortment of games in the living room. The visitor took a seat at the island, watching her intently. "Do you want anything?"

"Naw," he replied with an adorable scrunch of the nose and a shake of his head.

Shrugging, Ally went back to mixing the pancake batter, mentally reprimanding herself for even thinking anything about Jason being adorable. She was a married woman who loved her husband. Maybe inviting him inside was a bad idea when Austin wasn't with her. While Ally was lost in her own thoughts, Jason was not however as he talked. Ally was hearing his voice, but wasn't hearing what it was that he was saying as she tried to keep her mind on Austin and pancakes.

Hearing footsteps descending the stairs, Ally knew that Austin was out of the shower.

She also knew that a legion of demons would be unleashed from the pits of Hell when Austin learned the identity of their guest.

Austin, only clothed from the waist down in a pair of faded blue jeans, stepped into the kitchen, surprised to see a handsome man in the company of his wife. Curious to know the man's identity, a surge of jealously washed over Austin as he stepped around the island to be closer to Ally. Behind her, he snaked his strong arms around her tiny waist, pulling her closer to his body as he began ministering rough kisses along her neck and jaw line. Ally was his. Maybe that thought was a little primeval, viewing his wife as a possession rather than a human being who was his equal, but right now Austin didn't care.

"Austin!" Ally scolded him, pulling away from him. However, Austin only pulled her back into him. "We have company," she reminded him.

"So?" Austin's voice sounded breathy in her ear. "Make him leave."

"Austin," Ally tried tugging out of his embrace once again as she vigorously stirred the batter so it was as smooth as silk. "Jason is my friend."

Upon hearing the name, jealously surged through Austin's veins more so than before. This visitor was the man whose love Ally wanted while they were apart. This was the man who consumed Ally's thoughts. The need to prove Ally belong to him and only him, overcame Austin as his hands traveled from Ally's waist down to her hips. His hold on her was so tight he'd probably leave marks in her skin, but Austin didn't care. The assault on her neck became even rougher as he nipped and sucked on the flesh. It was as if he was going to leave a brand on her, proving to the world that she was his.

Exasperated by her husband's actions, Ally huffed, banging the mixing bowl full of batter onto the counter next to the hot skillet. Forcefully, removing Austin's hands from her hips, Ally excused themselves to Jason before she yanked him out of the kitchen to admonish his actions in private.

Finding him and Ally squished in the tiny closet under the stairs so that Jason could not see or hear their conversation, Austin blinked adjusting to the dimness. "I feel like Harry Potter in here," he commented, smiling goofily.

"Then maybe you should sleep under the stairs then," Ally commented, with a roll of her eyes.

"But I wanna sleep with you," Austin replied with a frown.

"That was made pretty clear by your actions in the kitchen!" Ally spat back.

Austin smirked at her sentence. "I never pegged you as one to have such a dirty mind, Mrs. Moon," Austin said, his cheeky smile growing wider.

"Oh, get your mind out of the gutter!" Ally replied.

Again, Austin smirked. "Really?" He asked, "Because it sounds like you're the one who has their mind in the gutter."

Sighing, Ally placed her hands on either side of his face, cupping his cheeks so that he had no choice but look her straight in the eye. "Look Austin," she said. By her forceful tone, Austin knew that she was in charge of this conversation and any interruptions from him would not be appreciated any longer. "You know that I love you. Jason knows that I love you. You, Austin Monica Moon are the only man for me." Austin nodded in understanding. Glad to know that Austin was over his stupid, uncalled for jealous fit, Ally smiled, crashing her lips onto his.

"Good," Austin replied when she pulled away.

"Is everything okay?" Jason asked, sounding concerned when Austin and Ally came back a few minutes later.

"Everything's great," Ally replied truthfully, holding onto Austin's hand. She gave it a gentle squeeze before releasing it to continue making breakfast for them, while Austin and Jason were engaged in a conversation about video games and oddly enough, Austin's music.

**xXx**

The TV was on showing a movie on the Hallmark channel, but Austin and Ally weren't really watching it. Instead the couple were sitting on opposite ends of the couch with a deck of cards between them. "Hm," Ally smirked, quite pleased with the hand she had been dealt. Looking past her hand, she watched Austin, trying to read his facial expressions. However, it was as if he had had an encounter with the Narnia witch and was turned to stone. That's how his face looked to Ally since she couldn't read him. Normally, Austin's face was easy to read, always showing his emotions. Except when it came to cards. The man had a rock solid poker face.

"Got any two's?"

"Go fish."

Damn, Austin mused to himself as he grabbed a playing card from the top of the deck and adding it to his hand. He should really learn another card game besides go fish.

The land line ringing pulled him out of his thoughts. Ally jumped to her feet and placed her hand of cards face down before rushing into the kitchen grab the phone off the hook. "No peeking!" she called over her shoulder as she left the room.

Once she was completely out of sight, Austin reached forward, flipping her hand upwards so he could the numbers. "I thought you said you didn't have any two's!" he yelled back to her.

"Austin's cheating at cards," Ally explained into the phone walking back to her waiting husband and the game. Settling back into the cushions, Ally smiled as she listened to what was being said on the other end.

While Ally was talking on the house phone, her cell phone belted out the familiar lyrics of an Austin Moon song. Stretching his arm out, Austin grabbed the device from the coffee table. "Yeah," he spoke into the device. It didn't take long for him to hold the object away from his ear and out to Ally. Ally did the same with the other phone.

"It's for you," they said simultaneously before breaking out in fits of giggles.

"Your Mom," Ally explained as Austin took the phone from her.

"Trish," Austin explained, handing her the cell phone.

Austin pressed the phone to his ear, listening to his mother's scolding voice. "Mom!" he whined into the mouthpiece. "Ally's cheating first!"

Ally erupted into another fit of giggles. "Nothing's dying, Trish," she said into the phone. "Yeah, I'm sure. Austin's just accusing me of cheating at cards and complaining to his mother."

"Mom, Ally's talking about me behind my back!"

Ally took her phone away from her ear and pressed it to her chest to muffle the noise. "No I'm not!" Ally exclaimed loudly so that Mimi could hear her. "I'm talking about you in front of your face!" Like a spoiled child, she stuck her tongue out at Austin before resuming her conversation with Trish.

"Mom, Ally stuck her tongue out at me!"

"Wow," Dez's voice snorted.

"You two are very mature," Trish's voice sounded rather sarcastically.

"You need to learn more card games," Dez's voice piped up again.

Confused to ear Trish's voice loud and clear as if she were standing in the room, Ally whipped around to see Trish and Dez. Trish was still talking into her cell phone. Pointedly glaring at the two, Ally took her phone away from her ear and ended the call.

"It's stupid to call me when you're just going to show up like that," Ally admonished her best friend.

"Eh," Trish shrugged, swiping the cards with her arm, knocking them all to the ground so she could take a seat between Austin and Ally. Dez sat down on the coffee table next to the vase of roses. Looking Dez up and down from his colorful pants to his childish t-shirt with the puns, Trish said, "What are you doing here? Why didn't Austin leave you in Europe?!"

Animatedly talking with his hands, the red head explained to Trish and Ally the latest video game he bought and how he and Austin were going spend the afternoon playing it. However, he got a little too excited about the game and his elbow smashed into the vase of flowers.

_Wobble, wobble._

Ally watched in horror as the vase tipped this way and that, wobbling back and forth. Suddenly, the vase stopped, sitting upright as if it heard and obeyed Ally's silent pleas. Relief washed over her, causing Ally to release the breath she hadn't of realized she'd been holding.

"Whew," Dez sighed, wiping his arm across his forehead as if he were wiping away sweat from his brow. "That was close," he commented.

Austin gently tossed the phone onto the coffee table before looking over at Ally. "My Mom invited us over for dinner tonight," he explained.

"Yes!" Dez exclaimed, fist pumping the air. "I love your Mom's cooking!" Next, he hugged himself, showing how excited he was as he spoke. "Then we can all have a sleepover, stay up late swapping manly stories, and in the morning, I'm making waffles!"

"You're not invited, Moron!" Trish exclaimed throwing a handful of playing cards at his head, laughing hysterically when one lodged in his hair.

"Ah," Dez pouted, scratching his head, sending the card flying to the floor.

"What are we having?" Trish asked, hungrily rubbing her hands together. "I love your Mom's cooking."

Austin frowned, looking at Trish. "You aren't invited either," he pointed out.

"What?"

"My parents want me and Ally-"

"Ally and I," Ally corrected his grammar, causing her three friends to look at her oddly.

"They want to celebrate the successes of both of tours. My Mom's even fixing Ally's favorite meal," Austin explained.

"What's that?" Dez asked confused. "Pickles wrapped in pancakes?"

"Ewe," Austin and Trish exclaimed simultaneously. Even for Austin who ate crazy food combinations on a regular basis growing up thought that sounded gross.

"Actually," Ally commented, pushing herself up from the couch. "That doesn't sound too bad right now," she said, disappearing into the kitchen to grab the snack.

Trish followed her.

"Can we still have a sleepover?" Dez asked.

"No," Austin replied turning on the game console so they could play Dez's new game.

**xXx**

"I hope you're going to brush your teeth really good," Austin commented to Ally, not once taking his eyes off of the TV screen which showed a video game playing out on the screen. "Otherwise, I am so not kissing you." The big screen was divided into two different scenes as Austin and Dez controlled their characters to move. The boys had been engrossed in that game ever since Ally left to find a snack, a good hour ago.

Ally ignored his comment, sassily rolling her eyes as she and Trish went downstairs to the practice room to talk while the boys were lost in another world, slaying evil. Once downstairs, she slumped onto the piano bench, placing her fingers on the keys. Trish plopped into a nearby chair, listening intently to the melody being played. It wasn't long until Ally's clear, beautiful singing voice joined in.

_And P.S. Austin,_

_Are you listenin'_

_To the words I have to say?_

_I'm never going away._

_Do you know, I hope you do,_

_That I still love you_

_Yeah, I still love you._

_Austin, I still love you._

_I still love you._

"Awe," Trish finally cooed when Ally finished the song. "I love it. Have you shown it to Austin yet?" Ally shook her head no, removing her fingers from the keys. "And why not?" Trish asked, a hand on her hip.

Ally turned to face her friend and shrugged in reply. Why hadn't she shown it to Austin yet? The song was everything she wanted him to know about her feelings for him. All the words were true, and epitome of her feelings even if they were cliché and not very creative. It's not like she needed to show him the song to tell him how she felt. He already knew how she felt. She was in love with him and only him.

"Austin knows I how feel," she eventually replied after a long pause of silence. "Besides," she said, shoving the sheet music all together. "It's not that good."

"You're right," Trish nodded in agreement. "It's not that good." Jumping to her feet, Trish lunged forward to grab Ally's shoulders to make her point clear. "It's amazing!" Ally shook out of Trish's grasp and stood up, shoving the papers into the piano bench to hide them. "What?" Trish asked, seeing Ally's not so secretive hiding spot. "If you don't want Austin to find it, why don't you put in your book?"

Her beloved diary/songbook. Normally, she would have always adding an extra fierce "Don't touch my book" as a warning. But, she couldn't hide it there. Not this time. "I can't," she replied, shrugging her slim shoulders again. "Austin reads my book behind my back."

"And what does your book say about Jason?" Trish asked, curiously.

"A lot more than it should," Ally confessed, mumbling in hopes that Trish could not hear. She walked over to the futon and crashed face first into the plush cushions. "He came over this morning," she admitted. "It was weird."

"Really?"

"Yeah. When Austin first saw, him he became all possessive and caveman like. Then he and Jason were talking like they were best friends or something!"

"How can they be friends?!" Trish shouted in exclamation. "I wanted to see a showdown, that's why I gave him your address!"

Ally picked herself up and studied Trish. "You were expecting Austin to kill Jason? That's why you told him where I live?"

"No!" Trish lied, picking at her freshly painted bright orange nail polished nails.

**xXx**

"Oh come on!" Austin exasperatedly shouted as his character died again. Standing in rage, he tossed the controller aside and kicked the air for dramatic effect. What he was not expecting though was his toe to connect with the side of the coffee table once again, sending the vase of roses wobbling.

"Oh God!" Dez exclaimed.

"No!" Austin exclaimed at the exact same time as they simultaneously lunged forward to grab the unsettled object. However, they were too slow and the vase crashed to the floor. The vase cracked and broke into pieces, soaking the carpet and scattering flowers everywhere. They didn't even bother to restart their game as they looked at each other in horror, trying to figure out what to do all the while praying that Ally hadn't of heard the crash.

"What are we going to do?!" Dez whisper shouted to his best friend.

"I don't know," Austin admitted, pacing the floor, while rubbing his hands over his face. "But whatever we do, we aren't going to tell Ally the truth!"

"We could always go to Canada and play hockey," Dez suggested. "She'd never find us there."

"We don't know how to play hockey," Austin reminded him. "We don't even know how to ice skate."

**xXx**

"What was that?" Ally asked, hearing crashing and shouting noises from the main level of the house.

Trish shrugged in answer, ready to back up her friend as Ally stealthily climbed the stairs as quiet as a ninja to investigate the noise. Walking through the house, Ally led Trish back to the living room to see what kind of trouble the boys were getting into this time. The girls entered the room in question to see Dez and Austin nervously dancing around the flowers and broken glass. Still unsure of what to do.

"Austin Monica Moon," Ally deadpanned.

"Dezmond Troy-"

"I didn't do it!" Dez shouted, interrupting Trish before she could reveal his surname.

Ally's arms crossed over her chest and her toe started tapping, looking like a mother questioning a naughty child. Austin and Dez gulped in fear, though with her short stature she wasn't very intimidating at all. Their eyes fixed on Ally and then averted to look at each other before nervously looking back to Ally. And then, as if the action had been planned out or was written in a script, they whipped their entire head to look at the other as they pointed their fingers to pass the blame on the other. "He did it!" They simultaneously exclaimed.

Sighing in frustration as the childish behavior, Ally waved them off ignoring them as she disappeared.

"You clumsy fool!" Trish exclaimed, grabbing the nearest throw pillow. Maniacally, hitting Dez's body with the pillow as if they were engaged in a pillow fight. But it wasn't a fair fight since Dez was unarmed against Trish's brutal attacks.

"Austin did it!" Dez exclaimed in defense, pushing past Austin to run from the angry woman. Knowing that Trish would not stop assaulting him in the near future, Dez grabbed the other throw pillow as a weapon to better defend himself against her attacks.

Shaking his head in wonder, Austin watched his friends terrorize the living room before going in search of Ally.

Searching every room in the house did not turn up any positive results for Austin as he continued looking for his upset wife. Disappearing into the dining room, Austin opened the patio door, relishing in the warm air that engulfed him as he stepped outside onto the back deck. There, Ally sat gently swaying the porch swing with her foot. Ally looked so peaceful and serene sitting there, the scene causing him to smile. He didn't hesitate to sit next to her and join in on the calmness as they looked out over their backyard.

"Did they destroy the rest of the house, yet?"

"Not yet," Austin smiled at her question.

Silence reconvened between them after that, both relishing in the calm they felt at that very moment. Austin wanted to speak, wondering what had come over Ally back there. But, he wouldn't push the subject, unless Ally spoke first. It wasn't just that moment though, Austin mused. Especially since she ate pickles and pancakes together, a combination that not even Dez would eat. Ally made no indication of wanting to speak though.

"We're changing the locks, aren't we?" Austin asked, grinning.

Ally turned her head to look at him. "Oh yeah," she replied, causing them both to start laughing. As they laughed, Austin's arms engulfed Ally's tiny body and just held her close. "I love you," she whispered, barely audible. But Austin did hear her. Instead of replying with an "I love you" of his own, he kissed the middle of her forehead, between the eyes. This small action, sent shivers down her spine, as a powerful feeling of love swept through her body, warming her soul.

**xXx**

Austin fumbled with the buttons of his button down shirt, frowning when he noticed he buttoned it lopsided. Stamping his foot impatiently like a child might, he wished for the buttons to magically straighten. They did not. Ally's mirthful laughter penetrated the silence as she watched him pout. Whining at her stop making fun of him, Austin unbuttoned his shirt to start again. One eye supervised his task, while the other wearily watched Ally slip on a pair of wedged heels, expecting her to laugh at his misery again.

"Done!" he exclaimed triumphantly once the menial task was completed. Ally laughed again, wandering to the bathroom to finish getting ready. However, Austin's smile faltered once he looked at his reflection in the mirror. "Maybe I shouldn't wear white," he commented. "Mom's making spaghetti and meatballs."

No reply came from Ally however as she busy straightening her naturally wavy hair. Austin stepped behind her and grabbed his toothbrush to brush his teeth. Finished with her task, Ally ran her hairbrush through her hair once more, making sure it was perfect before leaving the room.

"Ready to go?!" she called back over her shoulder in a half question, half statement sort of way.

Arriving at the older Moon's house, Ally grabbed Austin's hand as they walked up to the front door together. Leaning her head on his shoulder, Ally let out a contented sigh. Austin only gripped her hand tighter. The way he towered over her, his strong grip on her, all made Ally feel safe and loved. Cherishing the feeling, Ally closed her eyes as she trusted Austin's guidance along the path. Austin never let her stumble, causing Ally to think just how much she appreciated how they were spending time together, just enjoying each other's company to get back in sync with each other as they attempted to get their relationship back on track so they could keep moving forward. She was quickly pulled out of her trance by Mimi Moon's distinct voice. Abruptly, her brown eyes popped open to see her surroundings.

"Austin! Ally!" Mimi exclaimed excitedly, throwing open the door to welcome them into her home before embracing them both is bone crushing hugs.

"Still need to breathe, Mom," Austin wheezed against his mother's tight embrace.

Ally lightly smacked her husband's shoulder in a playful manner as they followed their hostess inside the house. Mike Moon was flipping through channels on the TV, ignoring the hub bub. Mimi rolled her eyes at her husband's actions as she made her way back to the kitchen to check on dinner. Ally followed her to help, while Austin shrugged and joined his father to watch TV.

"Thank you for inviting us over, Mimi," Ally said, grabbing the dishes from the cupboards to set the table in the dining room. Mimi looked up from her task of stirring the goopy red pasta sauce to look at the younger woman.

Mike and Austin could hear part of the conversation from the kitchen, but weren't paying attention to what was being said. So the men continued watching the current Television program, sitting side by side in the exact same position. Austin cussed at the talking box, getting into the program at hand.

"Watch your language," Mike reminded him.

"I'm 25 years old!" Austin exclaimed. "You can't tell me what to do."

Mike glared at his son as if he was challenging him. "I am your father," he reminded Austin. "I can tell you what to do till the day you die."

"You're gonna die first," Austin said.

"That's not guaranteed." Austin stood up to leave the room. Mike used this opportunity to jab at his son again. "Going to cry to your mom?"

"No, I'm too old for that!" Austin shot back, not missing a beat. "I'm gonna go cry to my wife!"

Austin chuckled, shaking his head at the crazy arguments he tended to get in with his father. Stepping into the kitchen where the women were, Austin noticed that they immediately stopped talking when they saw him. Eying them suspiciously, Austin had a sickening feeling in his gut telling him that they were talking about him. Deciding that he didn't want to know what they were talking about, he brushed passed them on his way to the refrigerator. Yanking the door open, Austin peered inside trying to find something to quench his thirst. Pulling out the carton of orange juice, Austin untwisted the cap before holding the carton to his lips, swigging back the cool liquid before twisting the top back on and returning it to the top shelf.

"Austin, that's gross!" Ally complained.

"Like father, like son," Mimi muttered under breath as she watched her son retreat back to the living room.

"So how are things with you and Ally?" Mike asked more seriously once Austin returned, earning a shrug from the man in question. "Since the last time I saw you, you were complaining about how crazy she makes you."

"They're better than they were," Austin replied with a shrug of his hunched shoulders. "That's for sure." That last sentence caused Austin to think about his relationship with Ally, which was definitely on the mend. Before, they would purposefully say something to start a fight. Now, they thought about their words before they spoke them so they didn't purposefully start fights. If an argument broke out, they did their best to resolve the issue quickly, knowing the kind of strain the drama would have on their relationship. Then, they lived their own lives with their own careers. They may have lived under the same roof, but it didn't feel like it. Now, they were living one life together, spending as much time together as they could. Now they reminded each other of how much they still loved the other with words and deeds. "Yeah," Austin smiled, breaking out of his reverie. "Things are great."

Conversation flowed continuously throughout dinner with Mike and Mimi being the main participants while Austin and Ally more so listened to what the older couple was saying. Ally wanted to bury her face in her hands as she listened to the conversations about celebrity children. Prince George was not the focus of the topic as much as Ally wished he would be, because what American didn't like reading about the life of the royal family in England? No, instead, Mike was pointing out how poorly some celebrities' children adjusted to their parent's fame.

"Speaking of children," Mimi said, glaring daggers into Austin and Ally's souls. "Why don't I have any grandchildren to spoil yet?"

The younger couple was not expecting the conversation to turn to that. Surprised, Ally choked on the water she had just swallowed, whilst Austin spat the bite of noodles he had just taken back onto his plate. Concerned for Ally's health, Austin pounded her back to get her to stop choking.

Ally took a few more sips of water to settle her coughing fit. When she had stopped choking, Austin removed his hand from her back and she glared at him. "Pounding someone on the back does make them stop choking any faster!" she informed. Austin just shrugged.

**xXx**

"I can't believe my mom asked us about having kids!" Austin exclaimed in horror as he and Ally prepared for bed that night. Slipping an old t-shirt over his head, he looked at her. "I know she doesn't know anything that happened between us lately, but still! We've hardly discussed that!"

Ally fluffed her pillows before climbing into the bed. Pulling the comforter tight around her, she shivered. "Do you want kids?" she asked, gazing at Austin with a concerned expression etched across her beautiful features.

"Yeah," Austin said, crawling into bed beside her. "One day," he shrugged. "Why?" He asked confused why she would ask him that question. "Do you?"

"Yeah," Ally nodded with a smile. "I do."

Austin kissed her forehead again, the powerful feeling of love washing over Ally once more. "In a few years, that would be great."

"You don't want kids now?" Ally asked, confused.

Austin flicked the lamp off, plummeting the room into the pitch blackness before he lay down next to her. Although they could barely see the other's face, they snuggled closer so that their foreheads were touching. "Right now I'm happy with it just being us," he admitted. "It would just be so much harder trying to figure us out with a bunch of screaming kids."

"I guess you're right," Ally nodded in agreement.

"Besides Ally," Austin whined. "Babies cry. A lot."

Ally giggled. "Like you do when I don't make pancakes?"


	15. Hell and High Water

This game was so much easier when there was an opponent to play against, Austin mused as he watched the tiny ball fly forward to the other end of the field unhindered by any road blocks. Every once in a while he and Ally would get all competitive in rounds of Foosball, even though Austin won by incredible amounts every time. But, Ally wasn't home to play a simple bar game with him, leaving him home alone to amuse himself as he wondered what on earth she needed a doctor's appointment for when she was as healthy as a horse. Sure she's been throwing up occasionally lately, sounding like a cat having a hairball, but other than that she was one of the healthiest people he knew as she liked to take care of her body.

Bored with playing against himself, Austin left the Foosball table and wandered over to the two guitars standing side by side next to the piano. Grabbing the neck of the one closet to him, Austin slumped into a chair and began plucking away at the strings. Content that it was well enough in tune from its last jam session, Austin grabbed the pick and began to strum happily away. It wasn't long before his voice blended in perfect harmony with the infectious melody.

"Really?" Ally's sweet angelic voice rang out, a hint of a smile in her voice as she appeared in the doorway of their practice room. With his own smile, Austin looked up from the notes he was strumming before letting the music fade into quiet nothingness. Catching his amused own amused grin, Ally sauntered over to him and slung her arms loosely around his neck. Pressing a tender kiss to his mouth, her mirth turned into contagious laughter as she took the guitar from his grasp. Returning the guitar to its stand, Ally took a seat on the piano bench, so that she was facing him. One look at Austin's face told her that the lyrics were still playing his mind and the only way to get them out would be to sing another, equally catchy song or to watch science fiction movie like _Star Wars _or _Zaliens._ Sighing, she stood up and grabbed his hands, pulling him to his feet and closer to her. In no time they were seated side by side on the piano bench, their shoulders and thighs touching because of the close proximity in they were in.

"What's up?" Austin asked, picking his head up to look at her as he gently jabbed her side in playfulness.

Ally's bony little elbow, lightly jabbed him in return as she copied his movements. Closing her eyes as she smiled at the familiarity of the lighthearted atmosphere that currently enveloped them. Ally cherished these moments between them. Leaning her head on his shoulder, she let out a deep sigh, unsure of how to tell him what she needed to say.

"Austin," she murmured his name quietly, her fingers picking at the material of his t-shirt. "I've been thinking a lot about the future lately." Her confession was quiet and lame sounding even to her ears. Yet, Austin nodded in agreement, his ear rubbing against the top of her head as he did so.

"So have I," Austin admitted.

Picking her head up from his shoulder, she shook it no. Austin watched her movements closely, trying to figure out what was running through her mind. "No," she said, vigorously shaking her head back and forth. "I've been thinking a lot about _our future._"

By the way she emphasized the words our and future, Austin knew that this was going to be an important conversation that would either leave him soaring high in the sky with the eagles, high on his ecstasy or it would leave him hurting and nursing a broken heart. So he said the only thing he could currently think of, because the only future he wanted included her by his side.

"So have I."

Taking another deep breath, Ally gripped the edge of the piano bench as the toes of her shoes lightly scuffed against the carpeted floor. Unsure of how to continue the conversation, she blankly store at the room before her. The foosball table looked to be in the middle of a game and the futon's cushion was rumpled and sagging a little from being sat on for so long. Loosening her grip on the edge of the piano bench, the woman leaned back, resting her elbows on the keys. Her elbows hitting the keys resulted in a high end treble of cacophony music. Cringing from the horrid sounds of clamoring keys and clashing notes, Ally pulled away. And the piano should really be tuned. Next, her brain was being wracked as she searched for the current numbers of the bank account after the bills had been paid and charities had been given too. Furrowing her brows in thought, Ally gently chewed and sucked on her lower lip. Unable to find the answer, she looked at the man seated next to her, mirroring her current position.

"How much money do we have, Austin?"

Confused by her question especially since she did their taxes, Austin turned his head to look at her. Concerned, he placed the back of his hand to her forehead, feeling for an increase of body temperature. Satisfied with the inspection results, his hand dropped back to his side. "Ally," he snorted in amusement. "We could retire now and still live quite comfortably until we die at the age of 104."

Ally laughed at his answer and her mind brought up a vividly clear portrait of Austin as an old man in a wheel chair. Laughing from the picture in her head, she placed a hand to his shoulder. "I don't think you'll be doing much dancing then," she commented.

Grinning back at her, Austin retorted, "and I'd be reminding you to put your dentures back in."

Once again resting her head on his shoulder, Ally basked in his warm and cheery presence. Smiling, she picked her up briefly to kiss his cheek. "So, maybe one day we'll be too old to perform on stage and too senile to remember our own names," she said, her voice dropping to a quiet whisper. "But as long as we'll be old and senile together, I'll be happy."

Kissing her hair in reply, Austin draped his arm around her shoulders, giving them a gentle squeeze as he rested his head atop of hers. "Ally," he murmured.

"Hm," she hummed in answer.

"What's up?"

Ally picked her head up from his shoulder, forcing his head up as well. She looked at him and he looked at her, giving her the perfect opportunity to show her just how similar in color his eyes were to little hazelnuts. She sighed before speaking. "The thing is, I-"

**xXx**

"-Need a job," Dez commented, taking a slurp of the mocha frappe Trish had gotten him from her job at the new coffee house in the mall, _The Daily Grind. _Trish who was sipping on a French vanilla iced latte, glanced at the freckled boy beside her as they walked down the side walk, Trish still in her uniform and Dez in bright orange shorts. "My mom says that selling Austin and Ally merchandise on eBay doesn't count as a steady income." He used air quotes around the words, steady income.

"Jobs are pointless," Trish shrugged in reply. "The boss is always grouchy and the customers are stupid. Not even pay day is worth the drama."

Slurping the ice cold drink rather loudly, Dez skipped down the sidewalk ahead of Trish. Turning around so that he was facing her, he continued to skip backwards to keep the conversation going. "My dad was proud of me when I went to community college," he explained. "But they don't think only directing Austin and Ally's music videos is a full time job."

Because it wasn't a full time job, Trish thought to herself. While the shooting of the different scenes and adding the special effects and editing the videos did take a while to complete, those hours spent did not even begin to measure up to 40 hours a week. Besides with being best friends of Austin and Ally, they were not paid nearly as much as they should be, content to manage and direct for their love of the stars than for the money.

Again, Dez turned around so that his back was now to Trish as they continued on their way. Silence reconvened between the friends again as they continued their journey in silence. Several minutes passed as they passed by several different houses. Spreading his arms out wide, Dez twirled a 180 so that he was once again facing Trish. A wide and goofy grin was plastered on his face.

"How would you like to reclaim your role as Girl number 2 in my new movie: _Claws 2: Da-d-d-da?"_

The man was making a sequel to that ridiculous movie he made back when they were kids? The original claws had a stupid plot since Dez's main goal was getting Austin over his outlandish fear of umbrellas. It was ironic how a fifteen year old desperately afraid of umbrellas ended up using them in a concert about a year later. But back to the new movie Dez wanted to do. Austin and Ally's characters better fall in love, Trish mused, because if the characters they portrayed fell for anyone else, a jealous riot would break out. Which would be rather amusing for her. Smiling, Trish agreed whole heartedly to reclaim her part of Girl number two. If there was any chance that Austin's character saved a girl that was not portrayed by Ally, the pop princess would grow insanely jealous and a cat fight be unleashed on camera and there was no way that Trish could miss seeing that.

Slurping the last of her iced latte, Trish threw the empty container at her ridiculous friend's head. Laughing hysterically when Dez swatted the air as if he had been bitten by a fly and not bruised by garbage, Trish pushed passed him once they reached their destination.

"Trish!" she heard Dez call out after. "Littering is bad for the environment!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, Dorkmond!" Trish snorted, waiting for Dez to throw away their garbage and join her on the front steps. Once Dez was at her side again, she gently placed her hand on the door handle and pushed. The door refused to budge. Pushing harder, Trish tried again. But still, the door remained closed, denying them entrance. Huffing, she crossed her arms over her chest to pout.

Dez pulled the little key from the pocket of his orange pants and struggled and fumbled to put it in the key hole. Turning the key every which way, he could not get it in to unlock the door.

Violently yanking the key from his clumsy grasp, Trish exclaimed, "Let me do it!" Shoving it at the key hole, she cursed. Unable to accomplish what Dez could not, Trish cussed once again, throwing the key onto the ground in a fit of rage. Her dark eyes strategically shifted from one steel object in the driveway to the other before shifting towards the windows. Next, her gaze shifted to Dez. "Both of their cars are in the driveway and our key no longer works," she stated. Narrowing her eyes, she continued. "This can only mean one thing."

"They moved!" Dez cried in outrage. "They moved and they didn't tell us!"

"No, Moron!" Trish exclaimed in frustration at his incompetence as she pushed him off the stoop. Arms flailing in wide circular motions, Dez stumbled backwards, trying to catch himself to stop his fall. However, he was unable to accomplish that task and fell into the flowers planted along the house. "It means they changed the locks!" She corrected him. Filling her lungs with a deep breath, Trish balled her fists, slamming them noisily against the door. "Oh come on!" she exclaimed. "Don't leave me out here with this goof!"

Back on his feet, Dez wiped the dirt off of his pants before he joined Trish to pound on the door as well. "Yeah!" he yelled in agreement. "We could die of hypothermia out here!"

**xXx**

Hearing the muffled cries of protest from their friends outside, Austin's hazel colored eyes grew as wide as saucers as they connected with Ally's chocolate colored eyes. "Ally!" he panicked, gripping her shoulders tightly, his short finger nails digging into her skin. "We have to let them in! They could die of hypothermia!"

Shrugging out of her husband's clenching grip, Ally stood to her feet. "Austin," she said his name clear and calm. "It's ninety two degrees outside," she stated. "They won't die from hypothermia. Heat stroke. Maybe. But not hypothermia."

"Well, if my best friend dies, I'm blaming you!" Austin exclaimed indignantly, jumping to his feet.

Rolling her eyes, Ally left the confines of the practice room and wandered to the main level of their home, leaving Austin alone again in the practice room. They would just have to finish this conversation some other time when Dez and Trish weren't trying to break into the house and Austin was acting more like an adult.

Finding himself alone again, Austin shrugged as he dug through endless scores of music, looking for something to play on the piano. Haphazardly flipping through the book of piano music lying atop of the instrument, Austin tossed it aside not interested in playing the love them from _Titanic _or music from other equally tragic love stories. Flipping open the lid on the piano bench, Austin kneeled before it and grabbed several random loose sheets of music to look at. Bored, he tossed them over his shoulder before grabbing some more. He too was about to throw that over his shoulder when the title of the song caught his eye. At the top of the page, beautifully scrawled in Ally's calligraphy camp perfect handwriting, read: _Austin. _Bringing the paper closer to his face, Austin carefully read through the beautiful lyrics Ally had written. She had written a song about her feelings for him. While many of the songs Ally had written had something to do with him, directly or indirectly, this one was different. Like _I Think About You, _this song spoke deeply of her feeling for him, using his name and saying I love you directly and not in a roundabout way. Glancing towards the stairs where Ally had disappeared only mere moments before, Austin hugged the music to his chest before standing to his full height.

Bounding up the stairs, he found the composer of the song sitting cross legged at the island in the kitchen, munching on a sandwich which looked to be composed of sticky peanut butter, gooey grape jelly, and bologna. Catching his eye, the woman, quickly shoved the calendar across the table top away from her. Austin wondered why she had even taken it off the wall. Scrunching his nose at the disgusting look of the sandwich in his wife's hands, Austin decided not to touch that, wondering why all of a sudden she was eating weird food combinations that only Dez would try.

"What are you doing?" he asked instead.

Placing the remaining half of the sandwich back on the small plate before her, Ally licked her fingers clean. "Oh," she shrugged nonchalantly. "I was just looking at the date of something that'll be happening in a few months."

"Your birthday?" Austin asked rather confused.

Ally shook her head no.

"Thanksgiving?"

Again, she shook her head no.

"Christmas?"

He received the exact same head shake as his answer.

"My birthday?"

Ally opened her mouth to speak this time, but she was cut off by the chirping of her cell phone sitting on the counter next to the plate. Rolling her eyes, Ally grabbed the device making the offending noise, glancing at the caller I.D. Sighing, she accepted the call and placed it to her ear.

"Hi Trish," she spoke into the phone, causing Austin to giggle. The incessant pounding on the front door by their friends still had not died down although at least twenty minutes had passed since it had started.

Beckoning her to give him the phone, Austin smiled. Complying with his wishes, Ally handed him the phone after talking to their angry friend for the moment. "Ally and I are taking an evening stroll through the park," he lied, though a quick glance to the digital clock on the stove blinked 2:27. "You're key isn't working? Are you sure you used the right key?" Now it was Ally's turn to giggle. No longer wanting to hear the angry voice of the fiery Latina, Austin mischievously smiled as a deviously brilliant plan formed in his brain. "Cell reception-spotty-" he began to say, speaking slowly and leaving out words to make him sound believable. "Can't-you-" When Trish began to curse in Spanish, Austin knew he needed to come up with a better lie to tell her than no cell phone reception. "Oh," he whined. "I have to go," he said into the phone. "Ally just twisted her ankle and I can't carry her home if I'm talking to you." Pulling the phone away from his hear, he quickly ended the call before handing the phone back to its owner.

**xXx**

"They hung up on me," Trish scoffed, resembling a diva as she sassily placed a hand on the hip she jutted out after slipping the slim device back into her pocket. Now standing with her feet shoulder length apart, Trish turned to look up at her companion. "Apparently, Ally sprained her ankle," she said, using air quotes around the word sprained.

She watched as Dez's eyes grew wide with concern. "I hope she's okay!" he exclaimed. "We should get her flowers and a get well card to make her feel better!"

"Ally didn't hurt herself!" Trish exclaimed, exasperatedly throwing her arms in the air. "If she did sprain her ankle, it'd be from Austin chasing her around their bedroom!" Able to see straight through the lies Austin had told her, Trish sighed as she grabbed the collar of t-shirt to yank him away from the house. She knew that Austin and Ally wouldn't be letting them in anytime soon. Besides if Austin really was chasing Ally around their bedroom like a lion on the hunt, then she didn't want to be anywhere near the place when he finally caught his prey.

**xXx**

It wasn't until after they had hung up on Trish that Ally noticed the papers clutched tightly in Austin's left hand. "What's that?" she asked, pointing to the papers in his hand.

Austin took a seat on the stool next to hers and laid the papers face up between them. "I found this in the piano bench," he admitted, watching Ally's smile lighten up her face as she recognized the words she had written. "Why didn't you show me this?" he asked.

Ally shrugged as lame excuse upon lame excuse popped into her brain before tumbling from her mouth. She knew that Austin didn't buy the excuses of it not being good enough, he didn't need to hear a song to know how much she loves him, the song wasn't finished yet, the- No, she knew Austin didn't buy a single excuse that seemed to tumble from her mouth like a snowy avalanche tumbling down the side of a mountain. Looking down at the now cluttered table top, Ally muttered three little words.

"I was embarrassed."

Placing a hand a top hers on the table, Austin squeezed it gently, causing her to bring her eyes up to his gaze. "Embarrassed?" He asked, "Why?"

"Because I wrote the song while we were still on tour," she admitted, using his eyes as a portal to his soul as she store intently into them. His gaze never left hers. Quietly, she asked him if he remembered the time not so long ago when he said he would be filing for divorce. Seeing him nod his head in reply, Ally continued. "Do you remember the conversation we had two days later when I called you again?" She asked him next. Again, he nodded. He remembered everything as clearly as she did. "I ended that conversation by saying, 'Austin, I still love you.'"

"You did," Austin agreed. "I was relieved to hear that."

Ally smiled. "I wrote the song after we hung up. I didn't want you to know about it, afraid that if you did it would jinx us or something and we would still get divorced."

She knew that confession sounded lame to Austin's ears because it sounded lame to her own. Yet no matter how stupid it sounded, it was the truth. Ever since Austin had arrived home from tour and they had agreed to work on their marriage, they had really started to enjoy each other's company again as they hung out and laughed as if they were carefree teenagers again. And as they basked in their love for each other, proving their love with actions, divorce was the farthest thing on their minds. It was almost as if the word had never been uttered as a choice for them or their relationship. Which was a good thing, Ally mused. She was positive that she'd go crazy without Austin in her life when he was her whole world.

Feeling a pair of soft lips mesh against hers, Ally's mind quit racing as she relished the familiar touch of his lips on hers.

"I love you," he whispered once he pulled out of the tender, yet emotion filled kiss.

"I love you too," she breathed, gasping for breath.

Back inside the safe confines of his own personal space bubble and no longer invading Ally's, Austin's smile turned upside down as he studied her. Uncomfortable from feeling the intensity of Austin's gaze on her, Ally dropped her feet to the floor and retreated to the living room. Not wanting her to leave, Austin lunged forward, grabbing her wrist. Finding herself unable to leave, Ally turned around to look at him. Austin's grip tightened on her wrist.

"Are you going to tell me what's going on in your pretty little head, now?" Austin asked.

Frowning, Ally responded innocently, "What are you talking about?"

Still holding her wrist, Austin stepped closer to her, so they were standing toe to toe. Letting out a deep breath, he sighed as he searched for the right words to say. He asked, "You've been trying to tell me something ever since you got home, now what is it?"

Ally sighed. Looking up into his beautiful and kind eyes, Ally found a solace there. "I've been thinking about our future and our careers lately," she told him.

Austin nodded in understanding. He already knew that. It's what she had said to him when she had arrived home that afternoon. "I know," he deadpanned, forcing Ally to roll her eyes.

Seeing her reaction, his mind started racing with many different thoughts. What exactly did she mean by their future and their careers? Their future was guaranteed, at least that's what Austin believed after the conversation they had just finished about the song she wrote about her feelings for him. So, what could she be thinking about in terms of their future? And their careers? What could she mean by that? There was no way either one of them would leave the music industry. Music was their passion; the one thing that brought them together and when everything else seemed to fall apart, the one thing that kept them together.

"What," he asked rather confused, stepping backwards so he was sitting on the island stool again. "You want to quit?"

Ally's long hair which was tied back in a ponytail violently slapped the side of her face as it swished back and forth like horse's tail swatting at pesky mosquitos when she shook her head no. "Of course not," she assured him, putting his racing mind to ease. Though his racing mind was eased, he was still confused. Ally knew this and so she elaborated for him without him even having to ask her to. She sighed, stepping closer to him. His hand still gripped her wrist. "I am so glad we've taken this time away from the studio to work on our relationship," she said with a smile. "I absolutely love spending everyday with you."

Thinking back on the couple of weeks they've spent at home together after their tours, Austin smiled. They have spent a majority of the time with each other. Whether they were playing games, going grocery shopping, or watching TV they were together. They spent the time together and they seemed so much happier and stronger together. His grip on her wrist loosened and he held her hand instead. "So do I," he nodded in agreement.

"And," Ally sighed, her voice getting softer, letting her words diminish as she thought about how to continue. Eyes downcast, she refused to look at him as she continued allowing Austin to see how vulnerable she currently felt. "And," she repeated softly. Her voice was a soft whisper as she continued. "I'm afraid that when this hiatus is over and we go back to the studio, things are going to go back to the way they were and-"

"What do you want to do then?" Austin interrupted, seeming to know exactly what she was trying to say.

Normally she would have been upset with him for interrupting her, but now Ally was grateful for being cut off. Placing a hand on top of the one that held her other hand, she smiled up at him. Taking a deep breath, she found the courage she needed to continue. "I was thinking that I don't want to do this anymore if I can't do it with you." Furrowing his brows and pursing his lips in thought, Austin stared at her with unblinking eyes. The look he was giving her made her uncomfortable, but Austin did not stop looking at her as he was lost in thought. He opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it again as if he forgot what he wanted to say. "Austin," she sighed. "Please say something." Shaking his head, Austin admitted he didn't know what she was trying to say. Sighing, Ally moved so she was sitting next to him. "I want us to have one career," she told him, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. "Together."

His face relaxed and his eyes softened. "No more Austin Moon?" he asked, "No more Ally Moon?" His gaze never left her own dark colored eyes. "Just Austin and Ally?"

Ally smiled, closing her eyes and resting her head on his shoulder again. "Just like it should be," she confirmed.

"I think that's a great idea."

Good, Ally thought to herself. It was as if the music industry was pulling them apart as they both tried to make a name for themselves. A little competition never hurt anyone, but it felt as if it was dead set on pulling them away from each other and tearing them apart. Austin and Ally may be married, but in the industry, they were still two individuals. They had their own lives and their own careers. Austin Moon wanted to be the best. Ally Moon wanted to be the best. There was no room for compromise or draw endings. Not in this business. If they could renegotiate their contracts with Jimmy Starr and Ronny Ramone, Ally believed that they could eliminate the pressure they felt the industry was giving them to be the best. Because they could be the best. They could be the best together, just like they had planned from the beginning when she had agreed to be his music partner. No matter what happened, they would never stop making music together. It may have taken a while for them to realize it with many bumps along the way, but Ally felt their marriage and partnership was even stronger because of what they had suffered. There was no way either one of them could ever stop making music. Music was and always would be theirs. It was that strange force that brought two unlikely people together on one fateful summer day in a music store.

"Unfortunately we do have to talk this over with some people," Ally reminded him. She refused to say the names of the individuals who could crush their hopes of having one career together as if saying their names was taboo.

"Trish," Austin said the name with contempt.

Ally shook her head against his shoulder. "Why would Trish care?" she asked him with a hint of an amused smile. "We'd be giving her less work to do."

Austin closed his eyes as he rested his head atop of hers again. Ally was right. Trish would be overjoyed to know she'd have half the work to do than she'd been doing. Unfortunately, he knew what Ally was saying though. "Jimmy and –"

"Hm huh."

**xXx**

"Well," Ally announced walking into the living room to see the first _Star Wars _movie playing out on the television screen, the volume turned down as Austin was sprawled out on the couch, talking on his cell phone. Walking around the sofa, she sat down on Austin's legs and watched his facial expressions as he talked. She watched as his face lit up before he hung up. Tossing his cell phone gently to the carpeted floor, Austin sighed as he looked to the woman sitting on his legs. "Ronny said he wasn't expecting to hear from me, but he will see us tomorrow at 10:30."

Austin sighed, tipping his head back so he was looking up at the ceiling, ignoring the movie playing on the television. "Well, then we better hope talking with Ronny Ramone doesn't take long, because the only time Jimmy can see us tomorrow is 11:00."

Grinning, Ally repositioned herself so she was lying on top of him. "Oh," she purred, lightly kissing his jaw. "I don't think the meeting with Ronny will take all that long," she stated. "After all, you know he likes getting straight to the point."

Laughing at her joke, Austin pressed his lips to hers, slightly deepening the kiss when he felt Ally's fingers massaging his scalp. Before things could go any further, the familiar ring tone of Austin's phone sounded. Groaning, he pulled out of the kiss and removed his hand from the lower regions of her body. His fingers grazing over the carpeted floor, Austin gripped his phone and held it to his ear.

"Yeah?" he spoke into the mouthpiece, keeping his tone curt and short so the caller could not hear the annoyance he felt from being interrupted. Recognizing the voice, Austin replied, "Oh hi, Lest-" Rolling his eyes, he held the phone to Ally's ear as she had moved from her place on top of him. "I don't want to talk to you either," Austin mumbled as heard Ally speak to her father.

Sighing, Ally felt Austin's phone leave her ear and she buried her face into his neck. Groaning, she felt her tense body relax a little as Austin's hand returned to her body. "My dad wants me to watch Sonic Boom tomorrow while he's off at some convention," she complained. "I told him we'd be there after our meeting with Jimmy."

"We?" Austin groaned, afraid she would rope and hogtie him into working alongside her instead of fooling around like he normally did when he was at Sonic Boom. "Why we?" Rolling her eyes, Ally lightly slapped his head, wanting him to stop being so melodramatic about working with her at Sonic Boom.

**xXx**

Although it's been a while since he'd last seen Ronny Ramone, the producer looked and acted the same way he did the last time. Slightly shaking his head, Austin followed Ally's lead and took a seat in the plush cushioned chairs across from Ronny who had his hands folded on top of his wooden desk. The office was dark colored, professional, and dreary in Austin's opinion. Ally looked amazing in her salmon colored dress, which seemed to lighten up the room and Austin reflected that he should have opted to wear something other than jeans, sneakers, and a leather jacket as this was a business meeting.

"Well, if it isn't my favorite recording artist," Ronny smiled with a gesture of pleasure to see Ally. His gaze narrowed on Austin and his tone of voice held contempt, sounding displeased as he greeted Austin. "With the competition."

"The competition happens to be my husband," Ally snapped, her harsh tone surprising both Austin and Ronny. Especially since they agreed yesterday that they would be remain calm to whatever Jimmy or Ronny told them.

Catching Ronny's gaze on him, Austin shrugged. Ally didn't have mood swings like this even when she was PMSing; and Austin knew for a fact that it wasn't that time of the month.

Recovering from the shock of Ally Moon's not so pleasant outburst, Ronny refolded his hands. "Let me just get straight to the point," he said, causing Austin and Ally to roll their eyes and Austin coughing to cover up his mirthful snicker. "I thought you got divorced."

Leaping to her feet, Ally slammed her palms on the smooth surface of the desk for dramatic effect. "Let me just get straight to the point," she seethed, causing Austin to sit back, cross his legs, raise his eyebrows, cross his arms over his chest, and wonder if he'd have to pull Ally off of the man so that she didn't accidentally strangle him with her bare hands. "Austin and I are not divorced, nor do we plan on getting one." Her voice rose in intensity with every new sentence she spoke, her finger jabbing into the desk top. "And if you do not agree to sign Austin with me, then you will forget the stupid contract I signed and drop me from your label. Do I make myself clear?"

Sharing another awkward glance with Ronny Ramone, Austin uncrossed his arm and his legs and stood up. Smiling at Ronny, he gently pushed Ally back into her seat before reclaiming his own. "See," he spoke before Ally could say something else that she might regret, "Me and Ally-"

"Ally and I," Ally muttered under her breath.

"We've been talking and we agreed that we don't want to compete against each other in this business anymore," Austin stated. "So, we decided that we'd both quit the music industry if we couldn't be signed together."

"If you don't sign Austin," Ally said, recomposing herself so that she did not go into another rage. "We'll just go over to Starr Record's."

"You know, Jimmy never took back his offer to sign you," Austin reminded Ally.

Shifting his gaze back and forth between Austin and Ally, Ronny spoke to silence the scheming couple. "Look," he stated. "Let me just get straight to the point." Ally discreetly kicked Austin's shin as he started to laugh. "People aren't in to husband and wife acts. They just don't sell." Shaking his head, he continued. "As much as I would love to sign Austin Moon, I can't sign you together."

"Okay," Ally shrugged. "Then-"

Ronny shook his head as he stood up, pushing his chair back. Austin and Ally did the same. "Let me get straight to the point. Nobody talks to Ronny Ramone like that, but you never fail to impress me Ally Moon." In a whisper he added, "And frighten me."

"Me too," Austin mouthed to Ronny so that Ally could not see.

"As much as I hate to lose someone so talented," he said more so to himself than to Ally, extending his hand out for her to shake. Ally did. "It was a pleasure working with you, Mrs. Moon." Next he shook Austin's hand. "It was nice seeing you again, Mr. Moon."

Once they were back on the streets of sunny Miami, Austin embraced Ally, picking her up off her feet and twirled her around. Infectious giggles emanated from her throat. Then, with Ally back securely on her own two feet, Austin took her hand and led her over to their waiting vehicle. Unlocking the vehicle from a short distance with the key fob, Austin released her hand and opened the passenger door for her before ducking around to the driver's side. Inside the car and secured by the seatbelt, Austin lovingly glanced over at Ally who was playing with the radio as soon as the car was started.

Never, not within his life time, had Austin expected Ronny Ramone to drop Ally from her contract so easily. Ally was a talented singer, who wrote the lyrics and the music to all of her songs. In fact, Ronny probably would have refused to drop her from the contract if she hadn't of gotten into his face, demanding he drop her. While Ally didn't look it, she could be quite intimidating and persuasive if she wanted to be.

Edging the vehicle back into the flow of traffic, Austin risked a quick glance at the radio's clock. 10: 52 it read. The meeting with Ronny Ramone had been short, just as Ally had assured him it would be. Then, risking another glance at Ally, he wondered how long the meeting might have gone if Ally hadn't of snapped at the producer like she did. Shaking his head, Austin concentrated on the road ahead of them as he tried not to think about Ally's strange behavior lately.

In no time, they were out of the car, barely making it to Starr Record's by 11:02 and were promptly shown to Jimmy Starr's office. "Let me do the talking," Austin whispered to Ally as they waited patiently inside Jimmy's office for him, taking the matching chairs seated side by side. "Since we want Jimmy on our side."

"What?" Ally hissed back. "You think I'm going to go into some kind of a hormonal rage and scare him away?"

"You kind of did with Ronny," Austin reminded her, causing Ally to scoff at his comment. "What is wrong with you?" He asked her. "You've been all weird lately and it freaks me out! I don't like it!"

Ally glared at Austin, opening her mouth to speak. However, before she could they were interrupted by Jimmy Starr's voice greeting them.

"Austin and Ally Moon!"

Immediately, the couple turned away from each other so they were facing forward and relaxed into their seats, watching the music producer take a seat behind his desk.

"You didn't bring your weird friends with you, did you?" He asked the couple cautiously, suspiciously eying them.

"No," Ally stated a little confused, wondering why he would ask that question.

Relieved to hear that, Jimmy nodded. "Right, well the last time I saw him, you're crazy red haired friend had a kangaroo that destroyed the place. He said that he was training the kangaroo for Austin's next music video."

"I never have, nor will I ever write a song about a kangaroo," Ally stated, thinking about why Dez would possibly need a kangaroo for the video.

Austin looked at Ally and then to Jimmy. "How did he get 'kangaroo' out of 'I care about you'?"

Shrugging, Ally ignored any future questions that could be asked about Dez. Crossing her legs, she began to speak, wanting to get straight to the point of the meeting. "We just came from Ramone Record's," she stated, much more professional than she had been with Ronny, causing Austin look at her with an odd look.

"Does Ronny ever get straight to the point?" Jimmy joked.

"No," Austin replied, thinking back to the meeting he and Ally had just gotten out of with. His voice grew quiet and low. "But Ally does."

Annoyed with Austin's last comment, Ally stuck her heeled foot out and kicked his shin as hard as she could, causing him to winch in pain as he glared back at her. Why can't he keep his mouth shut for once? Just because she was a normally placid person, who generally refused confrontation did not mean that she was acting strangely. Besides, she had chewed out Ronny Ramone after the whole Roxy Rocket fiasco and he had carried her off of live television for losing her temper. She had grown up quite a bit since they'd first met, she realized. And if Austin didn't like her standing up for herself and speaking her mind, then he'd have to crying to his mother. Maybe that thought was a little harsh. Austin wasn't a crybaby.

Choosing to ignore Austin's comment, Ally opened her mouth to continue. "And-"

However, before she could continue, Austin cut her off, wanting to avoid a repeat performance of what happened in Ronny Ramone's office. "And Ronny dropped Ally from his label because he refused to sign us together."

"You see," Ally explained, glaring at Austin for cutting her off earlier. With both eyes on Jimmy, she began to explain the agreement they had made concerning their career paths. Next, she spoke of their meeting with Ronny Ramone.

The way she talked with her hands like she tended to do when she rambled made her appear like an animated cartoon character. Austin goofily smiled at the thought of Ally looking like a cartoon character or of their lives being a comedy television show for kids.

"Right, Austin?"

Ally's voice brought Austin back from his current daydream. Placing a somber smile on his face, he tightly gripped his pants legs as he attempted to look professional. "Exactly," he agreed, his gaze not leaving Jimmy.

Jimmy leaned forward in his seat, nodding in competence at what the young adults seated before him had to say. "Ronny's right," he eventually spoke. "Husband and wife acts don't normally sell. They're usually quite talented together, but don't get the fan base they had hoped they would." Austin and Ally bowed their heads at his words, keeping their eyes downcast. "But-" That word caused the couple to look up again. But. The one word that could change everything in a matter of seconds. "The two of you have captured America's heart years ago. Everyone raves about Austin and Ally. So." He watched in amusement at the changed expressions on his client's face. Currently, Austin Moon's visage read anticipation and joy. The same expression was mirrored on Ally's face. "I'm going to sign Ally." He looked at Austin, and continued. "And Austin," he said. "I believe we have a new contract to negotiate."

**xXx**

"What's going on, Ally?" Austin asked for what seemed like the hundredth time since yesterday. He knew there was more on her mind than just their careers, but she refused to tell him as she shook her head, ignoring him as she handed a customer his purchase and his change. "Come on Ally," he whined. "You've been acting weird lately and I'm worried!" Folding his hands in a pleading manner, his lower lip protruded in a pout as he attempted to master the infamous 'puppy dog' look. Shaking her head again, Ally brushed passed him, but Austin grabbed her hand and yanked her over to the cushioned benches located at the side of the store. Sitting down, Austin pulled Ally down beside him so they could talk. Before either of them could speak however, the loud, clear, and bickering voices of Dez and Trish carried into the store. Unable to see their friends, Austin poked his head around in every direction looking for them. It wasn't long until he saw them enter the music store, their voices growing in dynamics.

"I'm so done being nice to you, Freakenstein!" Trish yelled to Dez, causing an amused Austin and Ally to chuckle.

"When is she ever nice to him?" Austin whispered to Ally, drowning out Dez's response to Trish.

Shrugging in answer to Austin's rhetorical question, Ally stood up. Placing her hands on her hips, she glared at their friends. "Didn't I tell you to be here for the team Austin and Ally meeting two hours ago?" She asked, her voice irritated by their tardiness.

Trish shrugged, pushing Dez to the floor before sitting down across from Austin and Ally on the benches. "I didn't have to be at work two hours ago," she stated.

Ally sat back down as Austin got up to help Dez to his feet. "And what's your excuse?" She asked Dez.

Des shrugged, taking a seat next to Trish as Austin reclaimed his seat by Ally. "I was working on the script for _Claws 2: Da-d-d-da!_" He announced doing jazz hands."

Austin and Ally linked hands and the motion did not go unobserved by Trish. When it came to Austin and Ally hiding something, Trish always knew. When they sat as far apart as they could at the breakfast table or when they sat closer together than normal, Trish always knew. Narrowing her eyes, she looked straight at them, trying to figure out what was going on between them.

"First things first," she said to start the team Austin and Ally meeting.

Dez jumped to his feet, producing his video camera. "_Claws 2-"_

"We're not discussing your stupid movie!" Trish exclaimed, grabbing his suspenders to pull him back down next to her. "First things first," she repeated, taking the stage. With her hands clasped behind her back, she started pacing. Her eyes grew narrower and narrower as she gazed upon the couple before her. "What is up with changing the locks?!" She pounced on them like a cat on ball on a ball of yarn. Her eyes were wide and Austin leaned back in fear, trying to cower away, hoping that Ally would say something. When Austin and Ally refused to answer however,, she continued to the second part of her agenda. "I had to sit through a lousy business meeting with Ronny Ramone this afternoon to discuss Ally's career and he told me that Ally Moon is no longer signed with Ramone Record's! Thinking the worst that you decided to get a divorce after all, I asked about Ally Dawson and the idiot never heard of an Ally Dawson. I know he's an idiot, but come on!" Jabbing her finger first into Ally's chest and then to Austin's, Trish continued, her voice getting louder and louder every minute. "And you two are acting all hunky dory and lovey dovey and if you don't tell me what's going on in one minute, I'm gonna-"

Ally sighed, standing up to place her hands on Trish's shoulders. Calming her friend down, Ally pushed her back to her seat by Dez. "While the two of you were complaining about dying of hypothermia," she said, "Austin and I were talking about the future. We decided that we didn't want our separate career's anymore an-"

"Austin Monica Moon, I swear if I hear that you're no longer signed with Starr Record's, I'm gonna shave your head, make you dress in a tutu with fairy wings, forcing you to sing _I Feel Pretty _in the middle of the mall on Black Friday!"

"I love _West Side Story!" _Dez exclaimed.

"He's still signed with Starr Record's," Ally assured Trish, who sighed in relief. "Actually," she continued. "Jimmy signed me too."

"Really?!" Trish's eyes grew wide in surprise.

Ally nodded, taking her seat next to Austin again. Austin continued. "Yup, from now on it's just going to be Austin and Ally."

"Ally and Austin," Ally corrected with a smile.

"Austin and Ally sounds better," Austin whined.

"Austin and Ally sounds like some weird show on Disney channel!" Ally argued.

"She's right," Dez said, nodding his head. "It should be Ally and Austin."

"We're team Austin and Ally," Austin defended. "Therefore, it's Austin and Ally. Not Ally and Austin."

"Right," Trish said slowly so they could end the petty argument. "If anyone has anything else to bring up in this meeting, please say so now." Dez raised his hand and opened his mouth to speak. "Anyone except for Dez," Trish added, forcing Dez to lower his arm and close his mouth to pout.

Ally looked at Austin and then to Trish, and then to Dez. Looking back to Austin, she stood up. Never taking her eyes off of him, she said, "Actually, there is something." She announced.

"What is it, Als?" Austin asked, concerned.

Taking a deep breath, Ally closed her eyes counting backwards from five as she calmed her pounding heart and her butterfly filled stomach. Opening her eyes again, she smiled. "There's going to be a new member to Team Austin and Ally pretty soon," she announced, receiving the exact same reaction from each of her friends.

They jumped to their feet, facing her, all talking at once.

"You're replacing me!"

"You can't replace Dez! I might want to kill him, but you can't replace him!"

"If it's Jason-Sure the guy has a great taste in music, but still-That doesn't mean I actually like the guy!"

The shouting continued and grew in intensity as if her three best friends were trying to outshout the others. Feeling a headache coming on, Ally placed her fingers to her temple and closed her eyes again. She remained this way for a few seconds, drowning out the shouting. Popping her eyes open again, she jumped to her own feet, sticking two fingers her mouth, whistling as loudly as she could in their ears. Immediately the shouting stopped and three surprised faces looked towards her. Her fingers back at her sides, she looked from Dez, to Trish, and finally to Austin. "I'm just going to say this," she said calmly, "because none of you are ever going to figure it out otherwise." Three expecting expressions looked back at her, eagerly waiting for her to continue. Taking a deep breath, she continued slowly. "The thing is, I'm pregnant."

Dez fainted. Trish fell to her knees, slapping Dez's cheeks to get him to wake up. Austin's mouth dropped in shock, as he stepped closer to her. "I'm gonna be a-and you're gonna be a-"

"Yeah," Ally, with a nod of her head in response to his unfinished sentences. "That's generally what pregnant means."

"I'm gonna be daddy," Austin smiled, placing a hand on his wife's still flat abdomen. Narrowing his eyes in confusion, his other hand stroked her cheek. "Wait," he said. "Is that what you've been trying to tell me since yesterday?" Ally nodded, a nervous smile plastered on her face.

Dez awoke to Trish slapping him. Seeing that he was finally awake, Trish slapped him once more for good measure before standing. Looking at the smiling couple, she asked Austin, "Do you even know where babies come from?"

Austin was too excited to contain himself or to listen to Trish's question as he let go of Ally and ran out of the store. Flinging the doors wide open he announced at the top of his lungs for all of Miami Mall to hear him. "Hey everybody, I'm going to be a daddy!"

"No," Dez replied in answer to Trish's question, rubbing his soar cheeks. "Where do they come from?"

Surprised to hear that question come from Dez's mouth, Ally's eyes grew wide. Looking from Dez to Trish, to the doorway, and back to Trish, Ally pointed towards the way Austin had just left. "I'm going to go make sure he doesn't hurt himself or something." With that, she followed Austin outside, leaving Trish alone with Dez.

The hot Miami sun shone brightly upon them, burning their exposed skin, but Austin didn't care as he kissed Ally outside of Sonic Boom. Right now, everything was going according to plan. Jimmy had signed Ally to Starr Record's, negotiating a whole new contract for the two of them. There would be no more days apart as they spent long hours at two separate recording studios. There would be no more tours that took them away from each other, straining their already strained marriage even more for months at a time. Their relationship was stronger and everything was looking up for them. The kiss deepened as Ally jumped into his arms, wrapping her legs around his waist to hold herself up. Yup, Austin knew for a fact that Ally loved him and only him. And if he ever thought of divorcing her again, he'd have to have Dez commit him to a mental institution, because he knew he'd have gone insane. With her lips hungrily kissing him and her body squashed up against his, Austin knew that come hell or high water, they would always make it through together as Austin and Ally.

**xXx**

_May 23__rd__, 2021_

_**New Directions and New Moons**_

_Many things have changed within the course of one year for the Dynamic Duo known as Austin and Ally. A year ago they were both unhappy in their marriage and pending divorce as their tours progressed. And what happened to Ally Moon's new man? Rumors has it that he is on good terms with both Ally and Austin and has no intention to break the marriage up between them. However, other rumors conclude that the mystery man was killed by a yeti while on a snowboarding trip to the mountains in Utah. Either way, he is no longer a major part of Ally Moon's life as she moves forward in her career and her marriage with Austin._

_Austin and Ally fans are eagerly awaiting the release of their first album ever recorded together. The album, "Where I Belong" is scheduled to hit stores the exact date as their eight year wedding anniversary, July 23__rd__. _

_When asked about their album's release date, Ally said, "This album is meaningful for us. It's the first we've ever done together and it's all about being with each other and being happy. So, it's only appropriate that the release date fell on our anniversary." It's good to know that the Dynamic Duo is back and stronger than ever. _

_Especially now since, the Moon's had just announced the arrival of a beautiful and healthy baby girl. While they had not released the name to the public yet, the proud father was happy to announce she was born on May 20__th__ at 4:01 in the morning weighing only five pounds and four ounces. _

"_I'm a daddy!" Austin kept saying over and over when asked about the birth of his daughter. Cheetah Beat reporters could not tell if he was excited or still in shock._

_Ally Moon had something a little different to say than her husband on their tiny bundle of joy. "Austin's ecstatic," she said, confirming Austin's behavior. "And as excited that I am that [she] is finally here and in my arms, I'm scared."_

_Wondering what Ally was exactly so scared about, our Cheetah Beat reporters dug deeper and sat down in an interview with two people very close to the Moon's. Asking what the new mother could possibly be scared of we were given to very distinct answers to the question._

"_Spiders. She is absolutely terrified of spiders." That's great to know, but not the answer we were looking for._

_He was slapped upside the head by his friend who replied with, "Don't listen to [him]. He's as crazy as the striped pants he wears. Ally is afraid of a lot of things. She's afraid of not being a good mother to her daughter and a better wife to Austin. She is also afraid that her and Austin's relationship might not be as strong as they think it is, no matter how far they've come in a year's time." Ally has nothing to worry about since Austin refuses to let her or the baby out of his sight. _

_As you can see a lot of things have changed for the better for Austin and Ally Moon and we congratulate them on the arrival of the newest addition to the Moon family and wish them all the luck in the world with their daughter and the success of their new album. _

**Well, this is the end of Hell and High Water and I'm quite satisfied with how it turned out. I must say I've had a lot of fun writing this story and am sad to see it come to an end. And I hope that you as the readers have enjoyed reading it as much as I've enjoyed writing it. I'm sorry that the wait for the final was long, but I hope the wait for the conclusion of the story was worth it. I thank everyone who has read, reviewed, favorited, or followed this story. Your continued support of this story meant a lot to me as I updated. I love you all and hope you will continue to check out my fics. **


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